Ping An’s associate OneConnect outlines plans to list ADSs on NYSE or NASDAQ
The company has filed the necessary registration statement for a proposed initial public offering with the SEC.
OneConnect Financial Technology Co., Ltd., an associate of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., has filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed initial public offering of its ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs. OneConnect will apply to list the ADSs on the NYSE or NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol “OCFT.”
The number of ordinary shares to be represented by each ADS, the number of ADSs and ordinary shares to be offered, and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Ping An of China Securities (Hong Kong) Company Limited will act as active joint bookrunners, BofA Securities, Inc., and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. will act as passive joint bookrunners, and CLSA Limited and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. will act as co-managers for the proposed offering.
OneConnect is a major technology-as-a-service platform for financial institutions in China. Its platform provides cloud-native technology solutions that integrate extensive financial services industry expertise with market-leading technology. As of September 30, 2019, the company had over 3,700 customers and the largest number of financial institution customers among technology-as-a-service platforms in China. As of September 30, 2019, its customer base includes all of China’s major banks, 99% of its city commercial banks, and 46% of its insurance companies, collectively reaching hundreds of millions of end-customers.
Since OneConnect’s establishment in December 2015, the platform has supported Chinese financial institutions in serving RMB1.8 trillion (US$0.3 trillion) of transactions for their end-customers. Through the platform, in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, on a daily basis the company facilitated over 135,000 anti-fraud checks, 4.2 million credit risk assessments, and the processing of approximately 13,000 auto insurance claims.
The primary purposes of this offering are to create a public market for OneConnect’s shares for the benefit of all shareholders, retain talented employees by providing them with equity incentives, and obtain additional capital.
The amount of proceeds from the offering has not yet been calculated. The company plans to use the net proceeds of this offering for enhancement of its platform and technology capabilities; for international expansion and strategic investments; for sales and marketing activities to enhance its brand and acquire customers; and for general corporate purposes.
OneConnect is permitted under PRC laws and regulations as an offshore holding company to provide funding to its wholly foreign owned subsidiary in China through loans or capital contributions and to its variable interest entity through loans. Such loans and capital contributions are subject to PRC regulations, approvals, permits, registrations and filings, and requirements of the relevant authorities.
