NEW YORK -- Insurance giant American International Group Inc. says it's begun the sale of part of its stake in Asian insurer AIA Group Ltd. and will use the funds raised to help pay off loans from the U.S. government.

Proceeds from the sale of up to $2 billion of AIA shares to certain big investors will be used for general corporate purposes, including possible stock buybacks.

AIG's board is also approving the repurchase of up to $5 billion of shares of the company's common stock from the U.S. government.

AIG, which is based in New York, nearly collapsed in 2008. It received $182 billion from the U.S. government _ the biggest of the Wall Street bailout packages _ after suffering massive losses from investments in derivatives.