Online subscriptions for the initial public offering (IPO) of
Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., of China Ltd., the country's second
largest life insurer, started on Monday.
The insurer announced that the IPO share price will be between
31.8 yuan and 33.8 yuan.
The insurer has received approval from the China Securities
Regulatory Commission to issue up to 1.15 billion yuan-denominated
A shares in Shanghai Stock Exchange, making it the second Chinese
insurer to list after China Life.
Ping An is expected to raise 38.87 billion yuan through the
offering.
The company said the money will be used in its capital fund and
for businesses approved by regulators.
The Shanghai offering will account for 15.66 percent of the
insurer's7.345 billion shares, according to Ping An.
Ping An earmarked 345 million shares, or 30 percent of total
shares on offer, to strategic investors. It initially set aside
287.5 million shares for fund managers and 517.5 million shares for
individual investors.
Subscriptions by strategic investors and fund managers started
on Friday while individual investors began to apply for the right
to buy shares through the subscription on Monday.
London-based HSBC Holdings PLC holds 19.9 percent stake of the
insurer, which is already listed on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange.
The IPO shares are expected to start trading on the Shanghai
bourse before Spring Festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year's Day
that falls on Feb 18 this year.
Ping An had 16.1 percent of the country's life insurance market
in 2005 and posted 5.32 billion yuan (US$684 million) in net
profits in the first three quarters of last year, up 25.77 percent
from the same period a year earlier.
China Life, which began trading in Shanghai on Jan. 9, has
raised 28.32 billion yuan (US$3.65 billion) from its initial public
offering of 1.5 billion A-shares.
(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2007)