A doctor checks a miner, rescued from a gold mine affected by a landslide
A doctor checks a miner, rescued from a gold mine affected by a landslide, at a hospital in Choluteca, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa July 4, 2014. Rescuers freed three miners on Friday who had been trapped by a landslide at an illegal gold mine in southern Honduras, but eight more remained unaccounted for as the search moved into its second day. The workers were trapped when the entrance to the mine in San Juan Arriba collapsed on Wednesday. Picture taken July 4, 2014. Reuters

Medibank Private, the largest health insurer in Australia, is targeting to raise $4.8 billion fresh capital with its initial public offering (IPO).

The public listing was launched on Monday as the firm offers over 2.75 billion shares priced from A$1.55 to A$2. It is part of the federal government's move to sell assets and generate money to be used for the construction of new infrastructure such as airports.

While the prospectus of the IPO, considered the largest in Asia for 2014 since the Alibaba IPO that raised $25 billion was launched in New York, gave an indicative range, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the IPO has a price cap of A$2 for retail investors when Medibank shares float in November.

The shares sale, being handled by three investment banks, has generated interest among Aussie retail investors with more than 750,000 pre-registering for the float. The A$2 cap applies to the first $250,000 allocated to individual buyers under the retail offer.

Andy Gracey, fund manager at Australian Ethical Investment, explained the high interest in Medibank shares to the firm's ability to improve earnings by lowering costs, particularly as the health care provider shifts to private hands from government ownership.

"The JLMS (joint lead managers) have done pre-offer research and got feedback from the institution on the back of that research and the price range is set within those boundaries ... In terms of both private health insurance stocks and health sector stocks, we think the range setting for Medibank is indicative of the sector," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Goldman Sachs Australia Chief Simon Rothery.

Goldman is one of the three investment banks handling the float sale.

Its indicative share price range points to an estimated market value between $4.3 billion and $5.5 billion, which is equivalent to 16.5 to 21.3 times its forward earnings. That would make Medibank one of the top companies in the 100 largest Aussie firms and the biggest government privatization since Telstra.

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