Mainland state-owned insurer PICC Group raised $3.1 billion in Hong Kong's biggest initial public offering in two years after pricing the deal near the bottom of an indicative range, the latest sign of a tepid appetite for new listings in much of Asia.

The muted result sets the stage for the few small deals still waiting to hit the Hong Kong market in the fourth quarter, which is usually the busiest time of year for equity offerings.

It comes even as PICC secured commitments from cornerstone investors for more than half of the IPO and hired a record number of underwriters to help get the deal done.

Upcoming offerings include an up to $200 million listing by natural gas producer AAG Energy, a $300 million IPO by engineering company Wison Group and a $150 million listing from thermal and coking coal miner Century Energy.

The PICC deal priced after a massive drop in IPO volumes in Hong Kong and a downturn in other major markets in Asia Pacific, including the Chinese mainland and Singapore, on concerns over Europe's sovereign debt crisis and the mainland's economy.

"In addition to the overseas markets in Europe, investors may also be worried about a slowdown in China's economy, so there are several concerns on the macro front," said Olive Xia, an insurance analyst at Core Pacific Yamaichi in Shanghai.

"Other insurance companies also tried to raise funds via share placements or convertible bonds or sub debt issuance, but the market demand is relatively weak or sensitive to the price," she added.

People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (PICC), as the company is formally called, priced the IPO at HK$3.48 per share, near the bottom of an indicative range, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company offered 6.9 billion new shares, putting the total deal at HK$24 billion ($3.1 billion). It had marketed the offering at an indicative range of HK$3.42-HK$4.03 per share.

The IPO is the biggest in Hong Kong since the $20.5 billion listing of AIA Group Ltd in October 2010. It is also the largest in Asia, outside Japan, since plantation company Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd's $3.3 billion offering in June.

Hong Kong led the world in IPO issuance in 2009 and 2010, but new stock offerings have dwindled and volumes are down by about 63 percent so far this year, including the PICC Group IPO, according to Thomson Reuters data.

(HK Edition 12/01/2012 page2)