The mainland's largest non-life insurer, with more than 70 per cent of the domestic market, aims to list in Hong Kong or New York this year, and will consider foreign firms as shareholders, according to a Business Post report.
Last month, the State Council gave its approval for the listing as part of a restructuring of Peoples Insurance Company of China (PICC) into two companies - PICC Holding and PICC Asset Stock, the report said.
PICC Asset plans to list, taking over the best assets of the firm, while the holding company will take over the firm's schools, hospitals, hotels and other non-business activities.
PICC is one of the three big state firms which dominate the mainland's insurance industry. The others are China Life Assurance and China Reassurance.
Last year PICC premiums from non-life insurance were 54.81 billion yuan (about HK$51.4 billion), accounting for 73 per cent of the mainland market.
Last Thursday PICC general manager Tang Yunxiang told a national meeting of managers that this year would be crucial for the firm as it carried out a restructuring plan which the State Council had approved and went ahead with its overseas listing.
