Chinese insurance broker Yuanbao files for US IPO amid reviving investor appetite

(Reuters) – Chinese insurance broker Yuanbao on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering in the United States, signaling a broader recovery in investor appetite for new listings.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

IPOs in the U.S. are experiencing a reasonably stronger year after a prolonged dry spell as more companies test the market, encouraged by the strong performance of high-profile listings like Reddit, alongside a rally in equities.

But, the number of IPOs by China-based companies in the U.S. has come down significantly in the last several years, after Beijing clamped down on offshore capital raising in 2021.

EV maker Zeekr’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year was the first big listing by a Chinese company in the U.S. since ride-hailing giant Didi Global was forced to delist its shares in late 2021 following a backlash from Chinese regulators.

CONTEXT

Yuanbao is an online insurance distributor in China, that uses data and artificial intelligence to provide customizable insurance plans to its customers.

The company is the largest independent insurance distributor in China’s personal life and accident and health (A&H) insurance market in terms of first-year premiums in 2023, the company said in its IPO filing.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and CICC are the lead underwriters for the offering.

BY THE NUMBERS

Yuanbao’s full-year revenue rose to 2.05 billion ($289.02 million) in 2023, compared to 850.3 million Chinese yuan a year earlier, the company said.

The company’s first-year premiums more than doubled to 17.6 billion Chinese yuan ($2.48 billion) in 2023, from 8.5 billion Chinese yuan in the year-ago period.

WHAT’S NEXT

Yuanbao, which did not reveal the terms of its offering, is planning to list American depositary shares (ADS) on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “YB”.

($1 = 7.0930 Chinese yuan renminbi)