Ping An may turn share offering to private placement

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co<601318><2318>, China's second-biggest insurer, may reshape its planned public secondary offering to a private placement to picked banks, according to a middle-level executive with the insurer.

"We won't ask for a penny from our A-share holders," sources cited the executive as saying. "We have begun explaining to our clients about the change."

It is also reported that China Construction Bank<601939><939>, the country's third largest lender, is among the potential bidders as it has cooperated with Ping An for a long time. Its chairman Guo Shuqing said earlier that the two sides were seeking for regulatory approval on jointly launching a bank-backed insurance firm.

However, Ping An's spokesman denied the news, saying that no latest information on the refinancing plan is available to date.