Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises China Life on US$1.28 billion capital offering

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised China Life on their US$1.28 billion capital securities offering, the first of its kind that complies with regulations aimed at strengthening China's growing insurance sector by providing sufficient capital in relation to risk profiles.

The notes have a tenor of 60 years, with the ability for them to be extended by another 60 years every time they fall due, and interest accrued deferrable at the issuers' option.

Partner Fang Liu said, "This transaction highlights the expertise of Clifford Chance in working on ground breaking deals in the capital markets and insurance sectors."

Partner Connie Heng, Head of Capital Markets for Asia Pacific, added, "This is a significant landmark deal for China Life, and is also important for the broader insurance sector. Given the apparent increasing risk profile in the insurance sector, we anticipate seeing similar capital securities in the future."

The Clifford Chance team was led by Fang Liu and Connie Heng with support from partner Matt Fairclough and associates Song Yue and Vivian Li.

This is yet another highly innovative and market-leading regulatory capital deal undertaken by Clifford Chance's Capital Markets team. Additional recent groundbreaking deals include advising on Bank of China's Tier 1 preference shares, Tier 2 capital securities transactions and US$3.55 billion four currency multi-tranche bond issuance and on ANZ's CNY-denominated tier 2 subordinated notes.

China Life is the largest life insurance company in China, with an extensive distribution network nationwide and headquarters located in Beijing.