Zurich to sell 97.5m New China Life shares

Zurich Insurance Co announced on Friday it will sell 97.5 million H-shares in Hong Kong-listed New China Life Insurance Co at HK$22.5 ($2.9) per share.

ZIC is expected to raise HK$2.194 billion from the sale, which is due to be completed on July 16. After the transaction, ZIC will hold 292.5 million New China Life shares, or 9.4 percent of all shares issued by New China Life.

The 97.5 million shares account for 3.1 percent of all shares issued by New China Life. The shares will be sold to a small number of institutional investors, according to a news release from ZIC.

ZIC will use the return from the sale on other investment opportunities in the Asian market, according to ZIC.

The share price of Hong Kong-listed New China Life dropped 6.45 percent on Friday, closing at $HK22.5 per share.