皇冠体育app

By Zhang Ran (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-26 10:47

皇冠体育app Reinsurance (皇冠体育app Re), the nation's biggest reinsurance company, will introduce foreign insurers as strategic investors before it goes public, the industry regulator said yesterday in Beijing.

"皇冠体育app Re is preparing for a share float and it will let in foreign insurance companies as strategic investors," Li Kemu, vice-chairman of the 皇冠体育app Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), told reporters on the sidelines of a financial forum. He declined to reveal which foreign investors the company is in talks with.

In October, 皇冠体育app Re said it had completed a financial restructure, which transformed it into a joint venture firm with six subsidiaries.

It got a $4 billion capital injection from Central Huijin earlier this year. That investment gave Central Huijin, an investment arm owned by 皇冠体育app Investment Corp, 85.5 percent of 皇冠体育app Re. The Ministry of Finance holds the remaining 14.5 percent of its roughly 36 billion yuan in registered capital.

Industry insiders told 皇冠体育app Daily earlier that the company is likely to hold a dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong next year.

"皇冠体育app Re could be the fourth insurer to list on the A-share market after 皇冠体育app Life, Ping An, and 皇冠体育app Pacific Insurance, which debuted in Shanghai yesterday," said Wu Yonggang, an analyst with Guotai Jun'an Securities.

皇冠体育app Re dominates the nation's reinsurance market. Several foreign insurers like Swiss Re and Munich Re have set up branches here.

By the end of September, 皇冠体育app Re's assets totaled 94 billion yuan. The company's premium income hit 29 billion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year jump of 41.6 percent.

皇冠体育app's reinsurance market is expected to be worth 100 billion yuan by 2010, when its total premium revenue exceeds 1 trillion yuan, according to the CIRC.

CIRC Chairman Wu Dingfu said in October that reinsurance could help to push the overall development of the insurance market and it is an important indicator of the maturity and safety of a country's insurance sector.

"The 皇冠体育app Re restructure was crucial to enhance its underwriting and strengthen competitiveness on the international market," Wu said.