AIG to sell $500 million in shares of Chinese insurer

American International Group Inc. plans to sell 256 million shares of China's PICC Property & Casualty Co. Ltd. for about $500 million.

The placement is slated to close on Thursday and is subject to customary closing conditions, AIG said in a statement issued Monday.

Even after the sale, AIG will remain the largest holder of PICC P&C, with about 1.2 billion shares, representing 8.2% of the company's total issued share capital, according to the statement.

“AIG is proud of our successful partnership with PICC, which includes our cornerstone investment in the IPOs of both PICC P&C in 2003 and PICC Group in 2012,” AIG President and CEO Peter D. Hancock said in the statement. “We will continue to seek mutually beneficial opportunities to broaden our strategic relationship with PICC. By monetizing a portion of our PICC P&C investment, we are de-risking our exposure and enhancing AIG's financial flexibility.”