(Yicai) March 14 -- Ping An Insurance, China's biggest insurer, has completed its withdrawal from the Shanghai joint venture it had with Shionogi, Japan’s fifth-largest drugmaker.

Shionogi’s Hong Kong subsidiary is now the sole owner of Ping An-Shionogi after Ping An Life Insurance, a unit of Ping An, exited recently, according to corporate data platform Tianyancha.

Shionogi agreed to buy all of Ping An-Shionogi and Ping An-Shionogi Hong Kong from units of Ping An, thereby dissolving the JVs and making them wholly-owned subsidiaries, the Osaka-based company announced on Dec. 23. 

Shionogi Hong Kong will acquire Ping An Life's 49 percent stake in Ping An-Shionogi, which focuses on drug research, development, manufacturing, and sales in China, the parent firm said. It will also buy Ping An Overseas Holdings' 49 percent stake in Ping An-Shionogi Hong Kong, which handles intellectual property licenses and imports and exports in Asia, it added.

Ping An and Shionogi agreed to dissolve their Shanghai JV due to different development goals, The Paper reported yesterday, citing a source at the Shenzhen-based company. The former wants to focus on its insurance business and the latter on new drug development and sales in China, the person said.

The partnership between Ping An and Shionogi began in 2020 when Ping An Life Insurance bought a 2 percent stake in the Japanese firm for JPY33.5 billion (USD227 million), becoming its seventh-largest shareholder. The size of its stake had reached 2.2 percent as of Sept. 31, moving it up a spot in the shareholders' list.

Although the joint ventures have been ended, Ping An’s equity stake in Shionogi remains unchanged, the insider told The Paper.

In July 2021, Ping An-Shionogi opened with a total investment of CNY2.9 billion (USD400 million), aiming to be a comprehensive medical enterprise integrating drug R&D, sales, and medical services.

Ping An is developing its healthcare business as a new growth driver. Its online healthcare platform operator, Ping An Healthcare and Technology, also known as Ping An Good Doctor, swung into the black for the first time last year, with a net profit of CNY81 million (USD11 million). Revenue rose 3 percent to CNY4.8 billion ( USD663 million), according to its annual financial report.

Editor: Martin Kadiev