On 17 June, 2020, China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. ("CPIC") held a listing ceremony at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and its Global Depositary Receipts (GDR) will be officially listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange ("LSE") on 22 June, 2020. It makes CPIC the first domestic insurance company to issue GDR and be listed on the LSE, as well as the first domestic insurer to be listed in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London simultaneously.
CPIC is an insurance group company established on the basis of its predecessor, China Pacific Insurance Company, which was founded on 13 May, 1991. It is a leading comprehensive insurance group in China.
Faced with complex and changing external environment, CPIC has successfully completed the pricing of this offering with the strong support of regulatory authorities and the joint efforts of various intermediaries. The total amount of funds raised in this issuance is US$1.9916 billion (assuming that the over-allotment option is fully exercised). The final investors mainly consist of cornerstone investors and long-term investors, including the cornerstone investor, Swiss Re Principal Investments Company Asia Pte. Ltd. (a member of the Swiss Reinsurance Group), which fully embodies the recognition of the long-term investment value of CPIC by the international capital market and its confidence in the long-term development of Chinese insurance industry.
In addition, with the continuous efforts and exploration of CPIC and other parties in the project, this project has also made many innovations under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect mechanism, including:
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The first GDR project adopting Chinese accounting standards;
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The first GDR project adopting the cornerstone investor mechanism;
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The first GDR project where a non-European company obtains free float waiver.
As the PRC legal counsel of CPIC in this project, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has been fully involved in each stage throughout this project, including project demonstration, legal due diligence, internal decision-making procedures of the company, domestic regulatory approval procedures, drafting and negotiation of transaction document, drafting of prospectus, as well as drafting and publication of domestic and overseas announcements. KWM also assisted CPIC in its effective communication and coordination with domestic and overseas institutions. The efficient, high-quality and professional legal services provided by KWM in this project have been highly recognized by other parties in the project. The project was led by partners Zhang Yi, Su Zheng, Liu Dongya and Tang Yiyun, and supported by Tao Tao, Ye Shengjie, Ye Churan, Zhu Yijia, Zhang Yiying, Guo Tianqi and Zhang Xiaoyue.
Zhang Yi, chairman of KWM China Management Committee, said: "Thanks for the trust CPIC placed on us! KWM is very honored to be involved in the first Shanghai-London Stock Connect project in insurance industry. This is another big step of CPIC in the capital market following its A-share and H-share listings, which were also assisted by KWM. Shanghai-London Stock Connect is a new mechanism to realize the interconnection between China and the UK capital market. This is also KWM's another "masterpiece" after it advised on Huatai Securities' GDR issuance under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect mechanism in 2019. Combining domestic and overseas capital markets, extensive experience in many industries, and strength in innovation, and leveraging its global network and resources, KWM has become a powerful partner for many clients to seize market opportunities and expand the global presence."
