China Reinsurance Group Corp., the nation’s biggest reinsurer, received Hong Kong stock exchange approval for an initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Beijing-based company plans to seek about $2 billion in the share sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The IPO may start as soon as next month, they said.
China Re will add to the $20.1 billion raised through first-time share sales in Hong Kong this year, up from $16.9 billion in the same period in 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The company had a 33.1 percent share of China’s property and casualty reinsurance market in 2013 and 37.7 percent of the life and health reinsurance sector, according to a July 31 exchange filing.
At the end of March, China Re had 139.6 billion yuan ($21.9 billion) of investment assets, the filing shows. China International Capital Corp., HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS Group AG are joint sponsors of the IPO.
IFR reported the approval earlier Friday, citing unidentified people. A Hong Kong-based external spokesman for China Re declined to comment.