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Shouhui Pushes For Protective IPO As Risk Factors Multiply

The online insurance broker is looking to build a capital buffer as commission fees shrink and policy providers increasingly sell directly to customers 

Key Takeaways：

Shouhui's revenue fell 15% to 1.39 billion yuan in 2024, hit by weaker demand for life assurance

The company ranks as China's second-biggest online insurance broker for long-term life policies, but with a market share of just 7.3%

Insurance can be a risky business these days in China, with disruptive technologies and web-based sales threatening to overturn standard practices and sideline service providers.

As an online broker specializing in life and health insurance, Shouhui Group Ltd. has found itself on the winning side of the fintech revolution, but it runs the risk of losing out in the long run, under pressure from shifting business models, a slowing economy and a regulatory squeeze.

Major Chinese insurance companies are now rolling out their own online sales platforms, cutting out middlemen such as Shouhui, which would otherwise broker a range of products.  

Aiming to fill its war chest for the battles to come, Shouhui has been engaged in a persistent effort to obtain a share listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It tried twice last year, without success, but filed its papers again just a month after the previous application lapsed, with CICC and Huatai International as joint sponsors.

Founded in 2015, the company acts as an intermediary for life and health insurance sales across three platforms. Via the Xiaoyusan channel, customers ...