SHENZHEN-LISTED real estate firm Oceanwide Holdings Co. is seeking to offload its main office complex in Beijing, according to people familiar with the matter, in a bid to raise cash after a unit defaulted.

The firm has been in talks to sell the Minsheng Financial Center in the heart of Beijing to China Taiping Insurance Group, said the people. Oceanwide’s asking price has been a sticking point, with the two sides currently discussing a potential price tag of about 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion), one person said.

Having developed an international footprint with real estate projects in the United States, Oceanwide ran into liquidity difficulties this year.

After its offshore unit only made partial payment on a US$280 million dollar bond in June, it embarked on a summer sale to recoup cash.

In April, the controlling shareholder of Oceanwide Holdings saw its years-long effort to buy U.S. insurer Genworth Financial Inc. fall through.

In June, its unit agreed to sell tech company International Data Group to Blackstone Inc., which gave the unit an enterprise value of US$1.3 billion.

In July, Oceanwide announced plans to sell no less than 20 percent shares in Minsheng Securities Co.

Last month, its controlling shareholder China Oceanwide Holdings Group auctioned 4.53 percent of its stake to raise money.

Located on Beijing’s prestigious Chang’an Avenue, Minsheng Financial Center is about 2 kilometers away from the Forbidden City. (SD-Agencies)