Anbang is considering floating its life insurance unit and has asked banks to pitch for the work, in a move that suggests the acquisitive Chinese group, which has to date valued its privacy, is preparing to become more open in return for capital.

安邦(Anbang)正在考虑将其寿险部门上市，并已为此邀请各银行争取这单业务。此举似乎表明，这家收购意识较强、但迄今看重自身隐私的中资集团准备提高开放度以换取资本。

The group, best known for an abortive¹ bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts this year, is founded on its insurance business — a model that reflects founder² Wu Xiaohui’s admiration³ for the investing style of Warren Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman.

该集团最为人所知的事件是今年早些时候曾竞购喜达屋酒店及度假村(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)，但最后放弃了。其本行是保险业务，这种业务模式反映了其创始人吴小晖对伯克希尔哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway)董事长沃伦•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)的投资风格的仰慕。

Bankers, who asked not to be identified, said talks were at an early stage and no decisions had been taken on structure, listing venue⁴ or deal size. “They’re looking for comments from banks on these points,” said one.

不愿透露姓名的银行家们表示，相关商谈处于早期阶段，尚未就上市结构、上市地或交易规模等做出决定。“他们正在这些问题上征求银行的意见，”其中一人表示。

Pitches are due in by the end of the week, with Anbang expected to decide on the lead banks in the next two weeks.

银行最迟在本周结束时提交自我推介，预计安邦会在未来两周内决定牵头银行。

Hong Kong, home to China’s biggest insurers including China Life, Ping An and PICC, is thought to be preferred to New York. Anbang declined to comment.

已经有中国人寿(China Life)、平安(PingAn)和中国人保(PICC)等中资保险公司上市的香港，据信比纽约更受青睐。安邦拒绝置评。

The hitherto unknown group embarked⁵ on a global spending spree in 2014, buying the Waldorf Astoria in New York for $2bn. This year it acquired Strategic Hotels & Resorts.

这家此前鲜为人知的集团在2014年发起了一波全球支出热潮，斥资20亿美元收购纽约华尔道夫酒店(Waldorf Astoria)。今年它收购了Strategic Hotels & Resorts。

In March Anbang hit the headlines with a surprise, weeks-long bidding war against Marriott International for Starwood. After increasing its bid to $14bn, the Chinese group abruptly⁶ walked away with little explanation.

今年3月，安邦再度登上新闻头条，出人意料地与万豪国际集团(Marriott International)展开持续数周的喜达屋竞购战。在提高出价至140亿美元后，这家中资集团突然放弃竞购，而未作什么解释。

People close to the deal said the Chinese insurance regulator planned to block the purchase.

接近那笔交易的人士表示，中国保险监管机构当时计划阻止安邦的这起收购。

Since then Anbang has gone quiet. In June it dropped an approval application for a proposed $1.57bn buyout of Fidelity⁷ & Guaranty Life in the US after New York’s Department of Financial Services asked it for more information.

从那时起，安邦变得安静下来。今年6月，在纽约金融服务部要求提交更多信息后，它撤回了15.7亿美元收购美国信保人寿(Fidelity & Guaranty Life)的审批申请。

A Hong Kong listing would cement the city’s reputation as the favoured international centre for mainland financial groups. The city is preparing for the listing of Postal⁸ Savings⁹ Bank of China, worth up to $10bn.

安邦如果在香港上市，将巩固香港作为中国内地金融集团青睐的国际中心的声誉。香港正准备迎接中国邮政储蓄银行(Postal Savings Bank of China)的上市，其融资规模可能高达100亿美元。