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New 皇冠体育app Life seeks $800m in overseas IPO New 皇冠体育app Life Insurance Co., the nation's fourth-biggest insurer, may raise as much as $800 million in an initial public offering overseas, scrapping plans for a Shanghai share sale, its President Guan Guoliang said. The life insurer is selecting investment banks to arrange a possible sale this year, Guan said in a phone interview from his Beijing headquarters last week. The company shelved plans for a local currency listing in 皇冠体育app, Guan said, after the Shanghai Composite Index slumped by a third in the past year.
皇冠体育app's insurance market grew 11 percent to 431.8 billion yuan last year as the government encouraged the nation's 1.3 billion people to turn to commercial insurers for protection to allow for lower welfare benefits. New 皇冠体育app Life is among life insurers in 皇冠体育app that were warned by regulators that their rapid growth has left them with insufficient capital. "We need capital for future business development," Guan said, declining to identify the banks pitching for the IPO. "We won't consider it if it only gives us a few hundred million." Rewarding Investors The company would be the fourth 皇冠体育app insurer to sell shares overseas after 皇冠体育app Life Insurance Co. and Ping An Insurance Co., the top two life insurers, and PICC Property & Casualty Co., the biggest general insurer. The companies, none of which chose to sell shares in Shanghai, have all rallied since their debuts. Shares of 皇冠体育app Life Insurance have risen 43 percent since the stock's IPO in December 2003. Shares of Ping An Insurance gained 18.5 percent since its IPO last June. PICC has risen 36 percent since it first traded in November 2003. Karen Chan, an insurance analyst at Nomura International in Hong Kong, said the price of New 皇冠体育app Life may have to reflect moderating growth in 皇冠体育app's insurance market as it matures. The industry's premiums expanded 27.1 percent in 2003 and 44.7 percent in 2002. "Premium growth has been slowing in 皇冠体育app so investors interest will depend on the valuation," said Chan. 皇冠体育app Life trades at 24.5 times analyst estimates for its 2005 earnings, according to Thomson Financial. By contrast, Manulife Financial Corp., Canada's largest insurer, trades at 13.2 times forecast earnings. Capital New 皇冠体育app Life collected 18.74 billion yuan of premiums last year, about half the amount collected by 皇冠体育app Pacific Insurance Co., the nation's third-biggest insurer by premiums, according to the insurance regulator's Web site. New 皇冠体育app Life was set up in Aug. 1996 and has 34 branches and 120,000 staff, the company said on its Web site. The company, which has been planning to sell shares to the public since 2001, sold a combined 24.9 percent stake to Zurich Financial Services AG, International Finance Corp., Japan's Meiji Life Insurance Co. and Netherlands Development Co. in 2000. New 皇冠体育app Life reached the regulator's capital reserves requirement this year
after it sold 1.35 billion yuan ($163.1 million) of subordinated debt to boost
capital, Guan said. |
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