FWD, the Asian insurer founded by a son of property tycoon Li Ka-shing, has filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering that aims to raise at least $1bn after its attempt to list on Wall Street came under intense scrutiny from US regulators last year.
The share sale by the rapidly expanding insurer started by Richard Li in 2013 underscores Hong Kong’s increasingly vital role as a China-friendly offshore financial centre, as US regulators apply greater scrutiny to mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies that seek to list in New York.
FWD submitted the application for its Hong Kong listing on Monday, according to an exchange filing. People familiar with the situation said it would seek to raise at least $1bn and will price the share offer in May at the earliest.
At $1bn, the IPO would mark the largest listing for the city in more than five months. Hong Kong’s pipeline of IPOs has been severely curtailed since early July, when Beijing launched a sweeping regulatory crackdown on offshore listings by Chinese technology companies.
FWD had turned to New York last year after being told it did not qualify to list as an innovative company in Hong Kong, a requirement for issuers seeking weighted voting rights which help founders maintain control of the company.
But FWD encountered intense scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US regulator, over its ties with China, one of the people said, with political tensions ultimately prompting it to formally withdraw its application in December.
The person added that while the insurer had sought to raise as much as $3bn when it filed for the US listing, the target range for the Hong Kong offer reflected adjustments after FWD brought in about $1.6bn from funding rounds in December and January.
Li started FWD with the acquisition of ING’s pension and insurance businesses in Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau for $1.2bn.
The group, which has focused on expanding in new markets across the region by acquiring the Asian businesses of retreating rivals, has a limited presence in mainland China but has substantial operations across 10 markets including Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Investors said FWD’s Hong Kong listing was likely to do well despite its rocky path towards a public offering.
“There’s plenty of money in Hong Kong,” said Richard Harris, a fund manager at Hong Kong-based Port Shelter Investment Management. He added that local analysts “will probably be quite generous about their valuations and views on [FWD’s] prospects”.
Banks on the deal include JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and HSBC.
