(Yicai Global) June 23 -- China Pacific Insurance Group’s Global Depositary Receipts officially listed on the London Stock Exchange yesterday, raising a total of USD1.992 billion in the first time a Chinese insurance company has concurrently listed in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London.

Shanghai-based China Pacific’s GDRs [LSE:CPIC] issue price was USD17.60 per share. Each GDR represents five shares of its Chinese domestic A-shares, thus corresponding to a price of USD3.52 per share. The proceeds will go to promote the company's international positioning and supplement its capital after deducting issuance costs, the Securities Times reported today.

China Pacific's closing price yesterday was 2.27 percent higher than the issue price. The firm’s GDRs started conditional trading on the London bourse at 9.00 a.m. on June 17. Its A-shares [SHA:601601] rose 1.3 percent to CNY27.88 from June 17 to June 22. The company's Hong Kong shares [HK:2601] also climbed slightly from HKD21.30 (USD2.75) on June 17 to HKD21.35 on June 22.

The GDRs issued this time may not be converted into A-shares from June 22, 2020 to October 19, 2020 under Chinese regulations. After the redemption restrictions expire, however, the GDRs can be redeemed as Chinese domestic shares and traded on the Shanghai board.

Global depositary receipts are bank certificates akin to American depositary receipts that represent shares in a foreign company. A foreign branch of an international bank holds the shares, which trade just as domestic ones, but various bank branches also offer them for sale worldwide. Markets use GDRs to raise capital denominated in either US dollars or euros.

Editor: Ben Armour