Top Biz News

China Re plans dual-listing in HK, Shanghai

Updated: 2006-09-19 09:20

China Reinsurance (Group) Company is planning listings on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai bourses next year after a capital injection from Central Huijin Investment Co Ltd, the firm's top management said.

"Floating both A and H shares will be an ideal mode for us," a senior manager told China Daily. He confirmed that the capital injection will come from Central Huijin Investment Co Ltd, a central government investment arm, but declined to reveal the exact figure.

Li Kemu, vice-chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, said the government is "currently studying the issue" and confirmed that China Re is holding talks with government departments on an initial public offering.

China Re, which is fully owned by the Ministry of Finance, is the country's only reinsurer and has about 90 per cent of the domestic market.

Shanghai Securities News cited unnamed sources as saying that Beijing-based China Re is likely to receive a capital injection of at least 10 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion) from Central Huijin Investment. But insiders disclosed that it could be as high as US$4 billion.

Sources said that China Re has hired CITIC Securities and China International Capital Corp (CICC) as its financial advisers. And PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the big four accounting firms worldwide, was hired as its external auditor.