People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China (PICC), one of China’s largest insurers, is in talks with some of the world’s top insurance companies as it courts investors ahead of its proposed US$3bn–$4bn Hong Kong IPO.
The insurer is in advanced negotiations over cornerstone investments from China’s largest life insurer, China Life Insurance, US insurer American International Group, French reinsurer Scor and a few more insurance companies in Asia, according to four sources familiar with the situation.
The company is also discussing cornerstone investments with State Grid Corporation of China, the country’s largest power grid operator, and a number of other big SOEs, added the sources.
The details of the agreements are yet to be finalised, but one of the sources said the cornerstone investors were likely to account for about 40%–50% of the transaction.
PICC plans to confirm the line-up of cornerstone investors before bookbuilding starts on November 22. Premarketing started on Thursday, and pricing is slated for November 30.
The listing is set to be the largest IPO in Asia ex-Japan this year.
China Life and State Grid did not return emails or calls seeking comment on Thursday. AIG and Scor could not be reached during Asian hours.
The insurer intends to sell about 16.7% of its enlarged share capital, with a valuation of at least Rmb130bn (US$20.8bn). These numbers, however, may change according to investors’ feedback during premarketing.
CICC, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and HSBC are sponsors of the transaction. Fourteen other banks are also in the syndicate though their roles have not been finalised as yet.