Kyobo Life not to go public in 2013: sources

Kyobo Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s second-largest life insurer, is unlikely to seek an initial public offering (IPO) this year due to worsening market conditions at home and abroad, industry sources said Sunday.

Citing no need to raise funds and a global economic slowdown, Kyobo Life Insurance has decided not to list its shares on the domestic stock market, according to the sources.

It marks the second consecutive year that Kyobo Life Insurance has chosen not to go public. In March last year, the insurance giant also decided to put off its listing plan, citing volatile market conditions.

“We will not seek to go public this year as there is no urgent need to raise additional capital, and domestic and external economic conditions are not good,” a company official said.

Kyobo Life Insurance’s major shareholders, including the Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO), had called on the company to list its shares in an effort to recoup their investments, but they unloaded their stakes to private equity funds, eliminating the need for an immediate IPO, market watchers said.

Kyobo Life Insurance’s decision to put off the IPO plan came after its local rivals, including No. 1 player Samsung Life

Insurance Co., have been suffering from low stock prices since their market debut, they added. (Yonhap News)