AIA Applies for Hong Kong IPO

AIA Group Ltd., the Asian life insurance unit of American International Group Inc., has submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong stock exchange for an initial public offering in the city which could raise as much as US$20 billion, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday.

Source: Source: WSJ | Published on December 17, 2009

Proceeds from selling the stake in what many see as AIG's crown jewel would help AIG pay back some of the roughly US$90 billion it still owes U.S. taxpayers.

The final size of the AIA IPO, the person said, has yet to be set and depends on the final valuation of the company, the percentage of AIA that AIG wants to sell and the market conditions at the time of the IPO. The US$20 billion fundraising size is based on a float of around 45% of AIA, whose operations span 15 markets in the region.

If the listing application by AIA is approved by the exchange, the IPO will take place some time in the second quarter, in keeping with the four-to-six month period such applications take to process, the person said.

Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank AG ar