AIA Group raised a record HK$138.4 billion after its initial public offering was upsized to capitalise on growing interest in the regional insurer.
AIA priced its shares at the top of an indicated price range at HK$19.68 each and also increased the deal size to 7.03 billion shares from 5.86 billion after an adjustment option was exercised.
The IPO could fetch as much as HK$159 billion if the underwriters use their over-allotment option to increase the offering to a maximum 8.08 billion shares.
'AIA has an attraction because its main business is focused on Asia and it still has growth potential and a very famous name,' Ben Kwong Man-bun, chief operating officer of securities firm KGI Asia, said. 'They have the interest of strategic investors and that helps to increase the market confidence in the listing.'
Investors have been vying for a stake in AIA because it is positioned to tap into Asian economic growth as a life insurance and financial services provider in 15 regional markets, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland, India and Indonesia.
Mark Tucker, AIA group executive chairman and chief executive, said in a statement the IPO would mark 'a critical turning point for AIA' and underpin its position in Asia.
The IPO is set to rank as the largest in Hong Kong. It surpasses Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's H-share listing in 2006, which raised HK$124.9 billion, according to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing data.
