Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises on China Pacific Insurance's US$1.8 billion offering and London GDR listing

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised UBS and Huatai International (as joint global coordinators) and HSBC, CICC, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan (as joint bookrunners) on China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. (CPIC)'s US$1.8 billion offering and listing of global depositary receipts (GDRs) on the Shanghai-London Stock Connect segment of the London Stock Exchange.

Pricing of the transaction was announced yesterday with conditional trading on the London Stock Exchange commencing today. Once unconditional trading occurs (expected on 22 June 2020), the transaction will be the largest capital raising via an admission to the London Stock Exchange in 2020 to date, and CPIC will become the first Shanghai, Hong Kong and London listed insurance company and only the second Chinese company to list GDRs in London under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect programme.

A cross-border team advised on the deal, led by partners Simon Thomas and Chris Roe (London), Tim Wang (Beijing) and Jean Thio (Singapore). They were supported by consultant Corey Zhang (Hong Kong), counsel Lorna Lyu (Shanghai), senior associate James Spencer (London), and associates James Zhang (Beijing), Phoebe Richardson (London) and Emma Bao (Hong Kong).

Tim Wang commented, "CPIC's London GDR listing will help strengthen the trading links between the two countries, and help attract more Chinese companies to consider London as a venue for global capital raising."

Chris Roe said, "We are delighted to have advised on a listing of such significance to both the Shanghai and London markets, utilising our market-leading know-how on Shanghai-London Stock Connect transactions and our leading equity capital markets teams in the UK and Asia."

The firm has advised on many of the market's recent leading listings, including having advised Huatai Securities on its landmark London GDR listing in June 2019, the first London GDR listing under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect programme.