(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- AIA Life Insurance, a unit of AIA Group, has bought a commercial real estate project in Shanghai for about CNY5 billion (USD716 million). The investment is the largest made by the life insurer since it was set up in 2020, The Paper reported yesterday.

Shanghai-based AIA Life acquired a 90 percent stake in Shanghai Shisen Real Estate and all of its debt, the report said, adding that Shisen has the rights to a plot of land on the North Bund in the city’s Hongkou district.

The project, which is expected to be finished by next June, will include office buildings, shopping malls, a theater, and a former residence of Nie Er, the composer of China’s national anthem.

AIA Life will fund the project’s construction and the subsequent operation. The total investment should not exceed CNY8.7 billion (USD1.2 billion), with the funds mostly coming from insurance liability reserves, the report said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev