Chinese Insurer Ping An to Invest $2.3B in High-Speed Rail Project

Ping An Insurance Co., China’s second biggest insurer, will pay $2.3 billion for a 14 percent stake in the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, the chairman of the railway company said.

Ping An has raised billions of dollars recently to pay for acquisitions.

In remarks posted on the central government’s Web site, Cai Qinghua, who is also vice minister of the Railway Ministry, said the National Council for the Social Security Fund would also buy a stake in the railway, investing 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) for an 8.7 percent interest.

Construction of the railway formally began Friday in Beijing.