STOCKS | PICC Plans Up To RMB 15 Billion New A-Share Placement To Finance Ministry

PICC Group plans to issue new A shares to the Ministry of Finance, raising up to RMB 15 billion, according to ETNet. After deducting related issuance costs, the proceeds will be used entirely to replenish capital and strengthen the insurer's capital base and capital structure. The placement still requires shareholder approval. The group said the issue price will in principle not be lower than the average trading price of its A shares over the 20 trading days before the pricing benchmark date. The number of new A shares to be issued will not exceed 10% of the A shares outstanding before the placement, and the shares will be subject to a five-year lock-up period. Based on the average trading price over the 20 trading days before the board resolution date, PICC estimated it would issue about 2.02 billion new A shares, representing about 4.38% of the enlarged share capital. The Ministry of Finance's stake would rise from 60.84% to 62.56%, remaining the controlling shareholder. PICC also nominated Yang Dongning, a former senior official at the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, as an executive director candidate for the fifth board term, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory qualification clearance. Yang previously served as head of the innovation business supervision department at the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, party secretary and chief of the Beijing bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and vice president of the Export-Import Bank of China. She will not receive director fees from the group and will instead be paid according to her management role.