Portugal raises €1.6bn through sale of biggest insurance group

Portugal raised around 1.6 billion euros (about 2.18 billion U.S. dollars) through the sale of 80 percent of Caixa Seguros, the country's largest insurance group, to China's Fosun International, local media reported on Wednesday. Due to the company's growing value, the amount raised is higher than the 1.03 billion euros (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) the Portuguese government expected when it announced the sale in February. Caixa Seguros, which is owned by state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD), has a 26 percent share of the country's insurance market. Portugal had to privatize several companies to meet the targets set in the 78-billion-euro (106 billion U.S. dollars) bailout program it signed with the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank in May 2011. The debt-ridden country ended its bailout program with a clean exit on Saturday after its economy showed early signs of recovery in the second half of 2013.