PING An Insurance’s OneConnect financial technology unit is leaning toward picking New York over Hong Kong for its initial public offering (IPO) in the hope of achieving a higher valuation, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd., China’s biggest insurer by market value, had been planning a Hong Kong IPO of the unit since the beginning of the year in a deal that could raise up to US$1 billion.

The insurer is now seeking to list OneConnect in New York as early as in September, said one of the people. Ping An declined to comment.

While Hong Kong took the global IPO crown last year for the most money raised in stock market flotation, its new listings were the worst performers versus those on other leading bourses.

Just six of the biggest 20 IPOs in Hong Kong that had begun trading in 2018 were above their offer prices a month after debut, according to Dealogic data, compared with 16 on the NYSE and 10 on Nasdaq.

“Given the tougher market conditions amid the Sino-U.S. trade tension, New York has probably become more attractive for many Asia-based issuers as it offers more mature markets with a more predictable listing pace and deeper pool of capital,” said one of the people.

OneConnect, which provides technology solutions to small and medium-sized financial institutions, raised US$750 million in its maiden funding round in 2018, valuing it at US$7.5 billion. It counts Japan’s SoftBank Corp. among its main investors. (SD-Agencies)