China Pacific eyes two listings before year end

Asia

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., which is partially owned by the Carlyle Group L.P. wants to raise $4bn in two initial public offerings towards the end of this year, sources said. It will start off with an IPO in Hong Kong and follow it up with another one in Shanghai. The issue is being underwritten by China International Capital Corp. and the Chinese subsidiary of UBS AG, UBS Securities Co. Credit Suisse Group is also expected to provide some support to the underwriting process for the Hong Kong IPO. The additional funds will be used to expand the company’s operations in China. Meanwhile, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown that many of the foreign insurers are trying to diversify into other financial services in China. AIG has announced it would be coming up with new products to meet the demand among the growing middle class for higher-yielding investment products.