(Bloomberg) — Taikang Life Insurance Co., the Chinese insurer backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., plans to seek more than $2 billion from a Hong Kong initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Beijing-based company plans to start the offering as early as in the fourth quarter, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Taikang has yet to seek regulatory approval in mainland China and Hong Kong for the share sale, they said.
The nation's fifth-biggest life insurer follows People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd. in selling shares in Hong Kong as a domestic stock market rally boosts profits for the industry. Chinese stocks have added $1.7 trillion in value in the past six months as trading volumes hit a record, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
"Taikang is known for its investment performance and product innovation," Luo Yi, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Huatai Securities Co., said by phone today. "With the stock market just starting to rise and investor sentiment about insurance stocks improving, the timing is absolutely very good."
