SEOUL -(Dow Jones)- Korea Life Insurance Co. (088350.SE) has been shortlisted in its bid to acquire ING Groep N.V.'s (ING) Asian life insurance business, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. Korea Life was among several initial bidders for the Asian life insurance arm of ING, including MetLife Inc. of the U.S., Canada's Manulife Financial Corp. and Hong Kong's AIA Group Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter. The sales process allows for bidders to bid for only part of the business, but Korea Life's bid is for the entire Asian operations. The price tag for the operations could potentially rise above $7 billion, according to analysts, making it potentially one of the biggest insurance deals in the Asia-Pacific region ever. -By Kanga Kong, Dow Jones Newswires; +82-3700-1900; kanga.kong@dowjones.com
