The share prices of China's second largest life insurer, Ping An Insurance (Group) Company, plunged on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets Thursday driven by fears over its possible refinancing plan.
On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Ping An's shares took the biggest tumble among the Top 5, closing at 52.59 yuan ($7.93), down 4.14 percent from the previous day. On the Hong Kong exchange, it fell to HK$84.75 ($10.9), down 0.7 percent.
"The share price collapse is mainly driven by fears in the market that Ping An might need to find refinancing of up to 80-100 billion yuan ($12.06- $15.08 billion) for meeting the minimum capital requirement set by the regulators," Luo Qi, an insurance analyst with Ping An Securities, told the Global Times.
"We think that Ping An lacks funds for expansion over the next 2-3 years. It would be best for them to acquire extra capital by taking advantage of the strong capital market now," Sun Xu, an insurance analyst with UBS Securities, wrote in a November report.
The company has a capital shortfall of 20-50 billion yuan ($3.02-7.54 billion), Reuters reported Thursday citing other brokerages.
"We don't comment on market rumors. Ping An's financial status is stable. So far we haven't received any notification of the refinancing plan," Sheng Ruisheng, Ping An Group's spokesman, told the Global Times.
The nightmare of Ping An's huge refinancing initiative in January 2008 is still fresh in the public's memory.
The company had then decided to issue an additional 1.2 billion shares and 41.2-billion-yuan ($6.21 billion) worth of convertible bonds to raise a total of around 160 billion yuan ($24.12 billion). The aim was to prop up its investment in the Belgium-based Fortis Group.
Following that announcement, shareholders of Ping An suffered 20 percent losses in the A-share market on two consecutive days. Fears that the large-scale refinancing would dilute the earnings per share caused a panic sell-off.
Ping An's audacious move triggered a refinance craze among other big listed A-share companies such as China Unicom and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, hammering China's stock market all the way down.
Given that terrible experience, investors believe that this time too, the company's refinancing might be the signal for yet another imminent sell-off, Xu Liping, an independent insurance consultant, told the Global Times.
On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Ping An's shares took the biggest tumble among the Top 5, closing at 52.59 yuan ($7.93), down 4.14 percent from the previous day. On the Hong Kong exchange, it fell to HK$84.75 ($10.9), down 0.7 percent.
"The share price collapse is mainly driven by fears in the market that Ping An might need to find refinancing of up to 80-100 billion yuan ($12.06- $15.08 billion) for meeting the minimum capital requirement set by the regulators," Luo Qi, an insurance analyst with Ping An Securities, told the Global Times.
"We think that Ping An lacks funds for expansion over the next 2-3 years. It would be best for them to acquire extra capital by taking advantage of the strong capital market now," Sun Xu, an insurance analyst with UBS Securities, wrote in a November report.
The company has a capital shortfall of 20-50 billion yuan ($3.02-7.54 billion), Reuters reported Thursday citing other brokerages.
"We don't comment on market rumors. Ping An's financial status is stable. So far we haven't received any notification of the refinancing plan," Sheng Ruisheng, Ping An Group's spokesman, told the Global Times.
The nightmare of Ping An's huge refinancing initiative in January 2008 is still fresh in the public's memory.
The company had then decided to issue an additional 1.2 billion shares and 41.2-billion-yuan ($6.21 billion) worth of convertible bonds to raise a total of around 160 billion yuan ($24.12 billion). The aim was to prop up its investment in the Belgium-based Fortis Group.
Following that announcement, shareholders of Ping An suffered 20 percent losses in the A-share market on two consecutive days. Fears that the large-scale refinancing would dilute the earnings per share caused a panic sell-off.
Ping An's audacious move triggered a refinance craze among other big listed A-share companies such as China Unicom and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, hammering China's stock market all the way down.
Given that terrible experience, investors believe that this time too, the company's refinancing might be the signal for yet another imminent sell-off, Xu Liping, an independent insurance consultant, told the Global Times.
