FWD Group Holdings Ltd., an insurer backed by billionaire Richard Li, filed a fresh application for an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
The insurer’s application, which was submitted to the Hong Kong stock exchange, confirmed an earlier report by Bloomberg News that it could be filed as soon as Monday. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are joint sponsors, while HSBC Holdings Plc. is the financial adviser, according to the application.
FWD Group could seek several hundred million dollars from an IPO that might take place this year, according to people familiar with the matter. It has received preliminary interest from potential investors in the IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Considerations are ongoing and details such as the timing and size of the offering may change, they said.
A representative for FWD declined to comment.
The insurer has dropped previous attempts for much bigger IPOs in Hong Kong and New York, which it initially targeted for a $3 billion listing in 2021. It raised capital via private placements instead.
In March, FWD said it recorded $24 million of net income after tax in 2024, its first full year of profitability under the new IFRS 17 accounting standards, as well as its first positive operating cashflow. The new business contractual service margin climbed 55% in the first-quarter from the same year-earlier period, the company said this month.
Share sales are picking up again in Hong Kong, led by battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., which is due to start trading Tuesday after the biggest listing in the world this year. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., which is also conducting a second listing, stopped taking orders from institutional investors Monday.
Meanwhile, Hesai Group, the world’s largest maker of lidar sensors used in driver assistance systems, and autonomous-driving company Pony AI Inc. have confidentially filed for Hong Kong listings, Bloomberg News reported last week. Bubble-tea chain Mixue Group raised over $500 million in early March. –BLOOMBERG
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