ZhongAn enjoys financing surge

Investors offer $25.6 billion to Alibaba-backed insurer's float

ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance, the Chinese mainland's largest online insurer backed by Alibaba, was oversubscribed by a factor of more than 400 with HK$200 billion ($25.6 billion) in funds frozen when its initial public offering closed on Thursday, according to market news.

Originally scheduled to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange next Thursday, ZhongAn offered 199 million new shares at HK$53.70 to HK$59.70 apiece with a minimum investment of HK$6,030.16 for a board lot of 100 shares. The insurer managed to price its IPO at the top of the indicated range, raising HK$1.5 billion, making itself Hong Kong's largest-ever insure-tech firm listing, according to Thomson Reuters' IFR magazine.