State-owned People's Insurance Company of China Group (PICC), one of the country's largest insurers, has chosen China International Capital Corporation (CICC), HSBC and Credit-Suisse to take the company public, a person in the company said.
A source at CICC confirmed the appointment and said the investment bank would act as lead manager, but declined to comment on how much the insurance company aimed to raise. HSBC and Credit-Suisse would not comment.
The insurance company will start a 'pre-road show' today to test investors' sentiment, according to people familiar with the matter.
PICC, which is the parent of the mainland's biggest property insurers PICC Property & Casualty, submitted an initial public offering application to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission in May, according to a regulatory person familiar with the matter, adding that the company applied for a A+H share dual listing.
A-shares are issued by mainland-incorporated companies that trade on mainland stock exchanges such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, available for purchase by mainland citizens in yuan.
H-shares are issued by mainland-incorporated companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The mainland's national pension fund invested 10 billion yuan (HK$12 billion) in the insurance group last month, the regulatory person said.