CICC, HSBC, Credit Suisse to lead PICC listing

HONG KONG: State-owned People's Insurance Company of China Group (PICC), one of country's largest insurers, has chosen China International Capital Corporation (CICC), HSBC and Credit Suisse to lead a planned listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.

CICC confirmed the appointment and said the investment bank would act as lead manager, the paper said.

HSBC and Credit Suisse declined comment, when contacted by Reuters on Saturday. CICC could not immediately be reached for comment.

The insurance company will start a "pre-road show" on Saturday, said the paper, citing anonymous sources.

PICC, the parent of China's largest property insurer PICC Property & Casualty Co , had submitted an initial public offering application to the State Council in May, the China Securities Journal reported on Friday.

The group is still waiting for approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The Journal said PICC's listing momentum gained pace after China's national pension fund acquired an 11 percent stake in the insurance group for 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) last month.

PICC saw its 2010 revenues rise 37 percent from a year earlier to 264.7 billion yuan.

Copyright Reuters, 2011