FWD Group Holdings Ltd., the Asian insurer backed by billionaire Richard Li, sees 2023 as a new target for its long-awaited Hong Kong IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.
FWD, which decided in May to postpone its listing in the Asian financial hub due to a weak market, is working on a possible sale of shares as early as the first quarter of next year, the sources said, asking not not be identified as the matter is private. The insurer has sought to raise around $1 billion in an IPO, although the final size has not been officially decided, the sources said.
The company plans to refile its listing documents with more recent financial details as early as next week, the sources said. The updated filing would show profit growth in the first half of this year despite the headwinds the industry is facing due to the pandemic, they said.
Photo credit: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg
Considerations are ongoing and details such as size and timing could still change, the people said. A representative for FWD declined to comment.
FWD filed for the first share sale in February after deciding to move its listing venue to Hong Kong from the United States, where it had applied for an IPO that could have raised up to 3 billion. dollars. The plan hit a snag amid growing unease among US regulators over Beijing’s long arm, after a post-IPO investigation by Didi Global Inc. launched a sweeping crackdown on Chinese-listed companies. the stranger.
The company would follow in the footsteps of other top companies whose IPOs could take place next year instead of 2022, hoping for more favorable market conditions. PAG, an Asia-focused private equity firm backed by industry giant Blackstone Inc., is among those considering postponing its planned Hong Kong IPO to next year, Bloomberg reported. News last month.
Top photo: A FWD Group Holdings Ltd. store. in Hong Kong, China on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. FWD Group, the Asian insurer backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, filed for an IPO in the city, after US-China tensions derailed more ambitious plans for an overseas debut.
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