18 June, 2020
Baker McKenzie is acting as the English, US and Hong Kong law counsel to China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. ("CPIC" or "the Company") on the approximately USD1.9 billion offering and listing of its global depositary receipts ("GDRs") on the London Stock Exchange. The GDRs, which represent the newly issued A-Shares in the Company, commence conditional trading on the London Stock Exchange today.
CPIC is the first insurance group simultaneously listed on the Shanghai, Hong Kong and London stock exchanges. The offering is the first under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme where the issuer introduced a European cornerstone investor with a long-term lock-up arrangement. CPIC is also the first company under the cross-border scheme to hold virtual roadshows, and to be thrown a virtual listing ceremony by the London Stock Exchange.
Founded in 1991, CPIC is a leading insurance group that offers a wide range of financial products and services in China. It offers comprehensive risk solutions and investment management services to approximately 139 million customers via its nationwide distribution network and diversified service platforms. CPIC intends to use the proceeds received from the offering to steadily promote its internationalisation and replenish its capital.
The Baker McKenzie team is led by partners Wang Hang in Beijing and Adam Farlow and James Thompson in London. They were assisted by special counsel Shanshan Xu, associates Daisy Chen and Phoebe Wang in Shanghai, senior associate Rachel Wang in Hong Kong, associate Brian Ge in Beijing, associate Shirley You of Baker McKenzie Fenxun Joint Operation in the Shanghai FTZ, and of counsel Charles Farnsworth and associate Eugene Budkevich in London.
Commenting on the transaction, Adam Farlow, who heads the Firm's Capital Markets practice in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said, "We have been privileged to work with CIPC on this significant transaction. This transaction represents only the second GDR offering by a Chinese company under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme since its launch in June 2019. We expect to see many more Chinese companies come to the UK to raise capital, with our deep pools of capital and welcoming environment."
Wang Hang added, "This transaction plays to our strength in complex cross-border capital markets transactions and demonstrates our one-stop shop capability to support our clients. We are very pleased to have helped our long-standing client CPIC in achieving many breakthroughs in this deal while meeting our client's commercial objectives. We look forward to continuing to support CPIC as it further implements its globalisation strategy."
UBS and Huatai are acting as joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners, and HSBC, CICC, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint bookrunners in the transaction.
