China’s biggest unlisted insurer Anbang poised to go public

Anbang Insurance Group, China’s biggest unlisted insurer and owner of New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel, is preparing an initial public offering of its life insurance unit in Hong Kong next year.

The possible floating of Anbang Life Insurance on the stock exchange could see the company valued at more than 100 billion yuan (HK$116.54 billion). But analysts warned the company’s famously mysterious holding structure and opaque business style may pose challenges for bankers looking to disclose sufficient information to attract international investors, analysts said.

The Beijing-based insurance giant has asked investment banks to submit proposals by the end of this week. The listed entity will include Anbang’s domestic life-insurance operations, according to the Wall Street Journal. Anbang’s chairman Wu Xiaohui is reported to be married to a grand daughter of former Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.

Bloomberg reported that Anbang will pack many of its overseas businesses into the listed body, and is considering first raising funds through a pre-IPO private placement in the coming months.

The size of the proposed floatation remains unknown, while a spokesman from Anbang Group told the South China Morning Post it was “too early to comment”.

Anbang Life, the flagship subsidiary of the Anbang Group, is currently the second biggest player in China’s life insurance sector after China Life, followed in third place by Ping An Insurance, according to data from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).