Bailed out US insurance giant AIG is selling shares worth $6bn (£3.8bn) in Hong-Kong based AIA Group, to help repay the US government.

AIG is offering 1.7 billion shares in a range of 27.15-27.50 Hong Kong dollars per share, according to Bloomberg and Reuters news agencies.

Shares of AIA, Asia's third largest insurer, were suspended on Monday.

In 2010, AIG sold about two-thirds of its stake in AIA in an initial public offering also to help pay the bailout.

AIG said the pricing for the placing would happen before 6 March.

AIG was bailed out by the US government after the 2008 financial crisis.

Some analysts said the time was right to sell AIA shares.

"AIG is doing this sale at the right moment," said Kenneth Yue, from CCB International in Hong Kong.

"If you look at the new business growth of AIA last year, it went up by 40%. I believe they've gone to the peak already - it would be very challenging for them to increase their new business value going forward by 40% every year."

Source :bbc.co.uk