Ping An shares rise on unit listing plan

Ping An Insurance(Group) Co of China Ltd shares listed in Hong Kong zoomed to a historical high of HK$93.40 ($11.94) on Friday after the insurer released an announcement about the financing channels of its technology subsidiaries.

In Hong Kong, the company's shares closed at HK$93.30 after logging an intraday gain of 0.9 percent, while its Shanghai listed shares fell 0.03 percent to 77.59 yuan ($12.08).

The Shenzhen-based firm said on Thursday that it will take the necessary measures for the strategic transformation of its technology business, "including but not limited to seeking all kinds of external financing for certain units" when appropriate in the future.

The notification came after media reports said that Lufax, the internet financial arm of Ping An, is expected to list as soon as March and its online medical platform PA Good Doctor may follow subsequently.

Lufax, founded in 2011, has accumulated 30 million registered users and its retail transaction volume reached 1.54 trillion yuan in 2016.

In addition, another subsidiary OneConnect, one of the world's largest financial cloud platforms, which has partnered with 400 banks, may also enter the stock market in the second half of this year, as well as a healthcare management service unit under the group.

The total valuation of these four firms is reportedly more than 630 billion yuan.

On the heels of the news, its shares hit records at both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets on Jan 18.

However, the current share price is yet to reflect the full value of the company, Li Yuan Siong, deputy chief executive and chief insurance business officer of Ping An, said in November.

He said that the company is taking an asset-light approach and will adopt a"finance plus technology" strategy.

In the last 10 years, the company has invested about 50 billion yuan in research and development on internet finance technology, medical platforms, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing and blockchain.

The potential IPO of Ping An's internet units will boost its group profit and valuation, said Ding Wenjie, an analyst at CMB International.