Before trading of Fortis shares was halted on December 15, the company's share price had plummeted to 0.92 euros. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. had paid 19 euros for each share it purchased in November 2007. At that time, it had poured about 1.81 billion euros into Fortis, which was named by Fortune magazine as the world's 20th biggest company by revenue in 2007. The value of Ping An's holding increased almost 5 percent in the following months, making the second largest Chinese insurer the biggest single shareholder of Fortis in the open market.

But Fortis was cornered in the global credit crunch and teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Its businesses were dismantled in October. Its Dutch assets were nationalized by the Netherlands, and its concerns in Belgium and Luxembourg were sold to the French bank BNP Paribas SA.

Ping An had hailed its purchase of Fortis shares as "having landmark significance," as the Chinese insurer believed it could learn advanced management techniques from the Belgian conglomerate. But it underestimated the sweeping effect of the global financial crisis.

No Layoffs

Lower profits at the country's centrally administered SOEs have stirred fears of major job cuts because of the economic downturn. But Li Rongrong, Minister of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), said companies are required to retain all staffers. He said the SOEs could cut costs by reducing salaries instead.