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Exclusive | Richard Li’s insurer FWD drops New York listing to sell shares in Hong Kong after a US$1.4 billion private placement with global investors

  • FWD will raise more than US$1.4 billion in a private share placement to global investors including Apollo, CPPIB, Swiss Re and Siam Commercial Bank
  • The Hong Kong insurer plans to sell shares in the city in the first half of 2022, dropping its listing plan in New York, a source said

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FWD is the insurance business of investment group, Pacific Century Group. Photo: Shutterstock
Peggy SitoandEnoch Yiu
FWD Group, the Hong Kong-based insurer backed by tycoon Richard Li Tzar-kai, will drop its New York listing plan to sell shares on its hometown exchange, a source said. The firm was poised to raise more than US$1.4 billion in a private fundraising ahead of its revised flotation plan.
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The insurer will raise the cash through a placement of new shares with a group of global investors including Apollo Global Management, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the reinsurer Swiss Re, and the Siam Commercial Bank, FWD said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.

Other investors include Li’s Pacific Century Group, Metro Pacific Investments Corp and the Li Ka Shing Foundation, which is controlled by Li’s father. The private placement was expected to be completed this month, subject to certain closing conditions. The statement did not mention its US listing plan.

Richard Li Tzar Kai, son of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and founder of the Pacific Century group whose businesses entail insurance, telecommunications and property development. Photo: Getty Images
Richard Li Tzar Kai, son of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and founder of the Pacific Century group whose businesses entail insurance, telecommunications and property development. Photo: Getty Images
The insurer was aiming to raise up to US$3 billion in New York in September that would value the group at US$13 billion, people familiar said in August. The IPO plan hit a regulatory roadblock in October when it did not receive official approval after US regulators asked about potential risks associated with the Chinese government extending its authority over Hong Kong-based firms.

FWD will still drop its plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange even after it received a green light from the Securities and Exchanges Commission, the source said on Monday, adding that it is likely to list at home in the first half of 2022. FWD’s spokesperson declined to comment.

Hong Kong is being caught up in the crossfire amid rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China, giving the insurer cause for caution, the source said, citing Didi Global’s decision to delist from the US as an example.

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The expected listing will boost the city’s status as a leading venue for global initial public offerings (IPOs). Hong Kong is set to end the year in fourth place this year with US$356 billion of proceeds, KPMG estimated, a 23 per cent slide from 2020 when it ranked second behind Nasdaq and the first decline since 2017.

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