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China’s securities regulator has given approval to the People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (PICC) to hold an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
PICC, which is already listed in Hong Kong, applied to list up to 4.6 billion shares in Shanghai, according to a prospectus filed by the insurer with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
It was reported earlier that the IPO was scheduled for June or July, and the transaction seeks to replenish the insurer’s capital levels.
The IPO, which could be the largest flotation in China this year, is expected to bring in at least RMB10 billion (around US$1.56 billion), a report by Xinhua said.
PICC will become the fifth mainland Chinese insurer – alongside China Life Insurance, Ping An Insurance China Pacific Insurance Group, and New China Life Insurance Co. – to be listed in both Hong Kong and the domestic A-share market. This will be the first insurance IPO on the mainland A-share market since 2011.
The insurer’s net profit attributable to equity holders in 2017 rose by 13% to RMB16.1 billion (US$2.52 billion), according to PICC’s annual report filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
