Thai Life meets investors ahead of landmark IPO

Thai Life Insurance is meeting its investors before it undertakes a US$1 billion (SG$1.37 billion) initial public offering (IPO), which could be the largest in Thailand for this year.

If successful, the $1 billion IPO will be seen as a boost to Asia’s capital markets, which have struggled to attract new IPOs because of volatility in financial markets, Reuters reported.

Thai Life, which is the country’s third-largest life insurer, is planning to hold a management roadshow from late June until early July, ahead of the listing later in July, a source knowledgeable on the transaction said.

The insurer aims to raise up to US$1 billion in the offering, said two sources, who requested their identities be withheld, as the information had not yet been made public. The company has yet to respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

As of March 31, Thai Life had market share of around 13%, with a net profit of THB3.79 billion baht (SG$151.2 million) for the first quarter of 2022.

A portion of the shares to be put on sale on the IPO are owned by existing shareholders V.C. Property Co and Her Sing (HK) Ltd. Thai Life’s IPO could be the largest since April 2021, when microfinance firm Ngern Tid Lor Pcl, raised US$1.2 billion, according to data from Refinitiv.