Taikang Life Insurance Co. plans USD2b IPO

Taikang Life Insurance Co., the Chinese insurer backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., plans to seek more than USD2 billion from a Hong Kong initial public offering.

The Beijing-based company plans to start the offering as early as in the fourth quarter, sources said to Bloomberg. Taikang has yet to seek regulatory approval in mainland China and Hong Kongfor the share sale, they said.

The nation’s fifth-biggest life insurer follows People’s Insurance Co. (Group) of ChinaLtd. in selling shares in Hong Kong as a domestic stock market rally boosts profits for the industry. Chinese stocks have added $1.7 trillion in value in the past six months as trading volumes hit a record, data compiled by Bloomberg show.