China Pacific Insurance, which is planning to raise US$1 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, will not be required to sell shares in the mainland, people familiar with the situation said.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, intent on boosting the profile of the domestic markets it oversees, was pushing for the mainland's third-largest insurer to list A shares, market sources said.
Other regulators, such as the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, support a single listing.
A sole Hong Kong listing 'has not yet been officially finalised but is expected', one source said.
Other sources, while aware that the deal was headed in that direction, cautioned that the CSRC could still win the day. UBS, JP Morgan and BOCI are arranging the sale.
China Pacific planned to sell shares as early as the fourth quarter but that has been postponed to next year after the removal of chairman Wang Guoliang in August.