New China Life files for up to $4 bln IPO-sources
A general view of the trading floor during the morning trading at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The global market for initial public offerings, which had been all but shut for months, has seen increased activity over the past six weeks as markets have surged. Sources said this week that two more Chinese companies were close to launching Hong Kong offerings to raise a combined $1 billion. REUTERS

New China Life, the third-largest life insurance company in China, has filed its listing application with the Hong Kong stock exchange, setting the stage for a planned IPO of up to $4 billion in Hong Kong and Shanghai, sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Thursday.

New China Life, the Chinese joint venture of Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services , filed its A1 listing document with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday, pushing ahead with plans for an IPO in coming weeks, according to four sources who couldn't be named because the details hadn't been made public.

The company aims for a hearing with the Hong Kong exchange's listing committee on Sept. 22, with the IPO set for sometime in October, two sources said.

Insurers and Chinese banks such as China Everbright Bank and Guangfa Bank plan to raise up to $35.4 billion in share sales in Hong Kong and China by the end of the year to bolster their capital requirements and fund growth, according to Thomson Reuters calculations.

New China Life had originally planned to raise as much as $4 billion with a dual listing as soon as September.

New China Life hired BNP Paribas , Bank of America Merrill Lynch , Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs , HSBC , JPMorgan , UBS AG and China International Capital Corp. (CICC) to handle the dual listings.

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