An advertisement for Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd in Shanghai. The insurer said a rapid expansion has put pressure on its store of capital and it has no immediate plans to make acquisitions overseas. [Photo/China Daily]

HONG KONG - Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd, the second-biggest life insurer by market value in the world, said it has no plans to raise money beyond the $4.1 billion it hopes to bring in by selling convertible bonds.

Ping An plans to issue the bonds in the third quarter of next year, after receiving approvals from company shareholders and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, company executives said on Wednesday.

Ping An's announcement of the plan on Tuesday surprised many analysts, since it came only nine months after the fast-expanding insurer raised $2.5 billion through a private placement in Hong Kong.

On Wednesday, Ren Huichuan, Ping An president, said the world's economic troubles have prompted the company to shore up its finances. Still, he said Ping An has no plans to raise capital beyond the $4.1 billion it has already said it will seek.

"Convertible bonds will satisfy our company's development for a certain period of time," he said. "We have no other fundraising plans so far, including in the H-share market."

H-shares are shares in companies that have been incorporated in the Chinese mainland and that trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Ping An, which aims to become a financial conglomerate having insurance, banking and asset-management businesses, said a rapid expansion has put pressure on its store of capital. It has no immediate plans to make acquisitions overseas.

Chinese insurers will need more than 110 billion yuan ($17.33 billion) in external money to pay for their rapid development in the next three years, the rating agency Standard & Poor's has said.

Ren said the group's subsidiaries could look to issue subordinated bonds in the future, but he did not provide details.

"With the Chinese financial industry developing very quickly, we need to increase our working capital," he said. "This is in line with the industry's development."

Reuters