New China Life targets $4b IPO

AVCJ reported in April that the insurer had filed its listing application with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The company originally wanted to complete the offering of up to 20% of its total equity before the end of October but with global markets struggling, this is now unlikely, The Financial Times reported. According to one source close to the deal, New China Life would be lucky to raise $3-3.5 billion if it went to market right now. No decision is expected to be made on the timing until the wider picture becomes clearer.

New China Life's leading shareholder is Central Huijin, a unit of China Investment Corp., which holds a 40% stake. Baosteel Group, the world's second-largest steel producer, has a further 20%, while Zurich Insurance is on 15%, having sold 5% to parties affiliated to Nomura and China International Capital Corp. (CICC) in March.

Temasek and Standard Chartered Private Equity jointly invested in the insurer at the end of 2010 - the former has a 3.5% holding to the latter's 1.5%. An affiliate of Hony Capital owns a further 9%.

New China Life is expected to be the first in a new wave of IPOs by Chinese insurers. State-owned China Reinsurance and People's Insurance Company (Group) of China also have listings in the pipeline, as does Taikang Life Insurance. In April, Goldman Sachs acquired a 12.02% stake in Taikang from AXA for an estimated $925 million.

CICC, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, UBS, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are said to be coordinating China New Life's offering.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Financials
• Exits
• Standard Chartered Private Equity
• Hony Capital
• CICC
• Temasek Holdings
• CIC