It’s all systems go for Zurich Insurance Group’s public share buyback programme.

Having obtained all necessary regulatory approvals, Zurich will launch the programme on April 11, 2018. It will involve as many as 1.74 million shares.

In its announcement this morning, the insurer said repurchases of the shares are carried out on a second trading line on the SIX Swiss Exchange, with Zurich as the exclusive buyer and Zürcher Kantonalbank acting as agent. It added that Zurich shares sold via the second trading line are subject to the Swiss federal withholding tax rate of 35% on the difference between the repurchase price and the share’s nominal value of CHF0.10.

Meanwhile Zurich’s board of directors intends to propose to the Annual General Meeting next year that the company’s ordinary share capital be reduced via the cancellation of the shares repurchased under the buyback programme.

Zurich stressed that all shareholders must seek specific tax advice.