Across The Border | ZhongAn’s resounding success likely to lure other mainland and regional fintechs to Hong Kong for listing
The mainland’s first purely online insurance platform is up 52 per cent on its IPO offer price when the shares debuted on September 28
The huge success of an online insurer’s recent initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong is likely to lure more mainland and regional industry peers in search of funding, according to analysts.
Shares in ZhongAn Online Property & Casualty Insurance – Hong Kong’s biggest listed financial technology company – have soared by more than half since trading started a fortnight ago.
The company, the mainland’s first purely online insurance platform, at one point hit a record high of HK$96.1 (US$12.31) before closing at HK$90.8 on Monday, a 52 per cent rise on its IPO offer price of HK$59.7 when the shares debuted on September 28.
The company is the second largest IPO this year, raising US$1.5 billion and its resounding performance will be music to the ears of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) which runs the stock exchange, as attracting financial technology firms (fintechs) has now become its number one priority.
Hong Kong is the most logical place for the development and formation of fintechs, as it sits in the perfect spot bridging east and west
Hong Kong has traditionally been something of a backwater for tech listings. In the first nine months of this year, there were 98 IPOs on its two boards which collectively raised US$9.14 billion – that’s down 52.2 per cent year on year, according to Thomson Reuters.
