After successively obtaining approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “China Pacific Insurance”, stock code: SH601601; HK02601) announced on June 10, 2020 that it had issued the Intention to Float (“ITF”) to list Global Depositary Receipts (GDR) on the London Stock Exchange. The issuance of the ITF implies that China Pacific Insurance has received greenlight from both domestic and overseas regulatory authorities for the GDR issuance, and has taken a major step towards listing. Post the completion of the issuance, China Pacific Insurance will be the first Chinese insurer to list simultaneously in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London. Meanwhile, the GDR issuance of China Pacific Insurance will become the second westbound issuance under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect, marking a material advancement in the bilateral cooperation of the China’s and UK’s capital markets, and another milestone in the globalization of China’s capital market.
According to the Intention to Float, China Pacific Insurance intends to issue up to 113,160,600 GDRs with each GDR representing 5 A shares of the company. The GDR issued is expected to be listed in the UK and traded on the Shanghai-London Stock Connect segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Since the subscription of GDR issued is limited to qualified investors under relevant domestic and foreign regulatory rules, the Intention to Float is not published for domestic investors. UBS AG London Branch and Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited are acting as Joint Global Co-ordinators and Joint Bookrunners for this issuance.
The decision to issue GDR on the London Stock Exchange marks a key step for China Pacific Insurance to execute “Transformation 2.0” strategy, enabling it to further optimise its shareholding structure, corporate governance, and expand its international presence. The GDR issuance will not only be an important milestone at China Pacific Insurance’s 29th anniversary, but will also effectively promote economic and trade cooperation between China and the UK, and fully demonstrate the opening up of China’s capital market to the world.
