CHINA RE BOOKS UBS TO FIND PRE-FLOTATION BACKER

China-based China Re is likely to be the fourth insurer to go public on the Shanghai bourse, but is seeking to introduce foreign insurers as strategic investors first, according to Li Kemu, vice-chairman of the China insurance Regulatory Commission, speaking on the sidelines of a recent financial forum. The reinsurer is understood to have hired Swiss bank UBS to find a foreign buyer willing to take a pre-flotation strategic stake. China Re has finally completed the necessary financial restructuring that makes a flotation possible, and has already received a capital injection of the equivalent of $4bn from state-controlled investment fund Central Huijin, which now holds an 85.5% stake. Local reports claimed that China Re favoured a deal with one of the leading European reinsurers rather than with a Bermudian or US player. The Ministry of Finance owns the rest. China Re generated premium income of 29.9bn yuan ($4.09bn) for the first nine months of 2007, up 41.6% year on year. The company has registered capital of 36.2bn yuan and the public offering could raise up to 19bn yuan, reports claimed.