Eight months after its much-heralded initial public offering in Hong Kong, ZhongAn Online Property & Casualty, the fintech insurer backed by China’s two biggest internet tycoons, is struggling to meet lofty expectations, highlighting concerns about a China tech bubble.
On Monday, ZhongAn’s shares were 12 per cent below the initial public offering price — and 46 per cent below their record high on October 9 — even as a broad index of Hong Kong-listed mainland groups gained 12 per cent in the same period. Its market capitalisation stood at $9.8bn, according to Thomson Reuters.
When ZhongAn debuted in Hong Kong in September, investors flocked to the world’s first “insurtech” listing, which seemed to offer exposure to multiple sectors of China’s emerging consumer economy, including travel, healthcare and consumer lending.