Beijing-based China Life offered 18.88 yuan apiece for its A shares. The
company raised 28.32 billion yuan by selling 1.5 billion yuan-denominated A
shares.
Public investors paid 832.5 billion yuan, or an oversubscription
rate of 49 times, for the shares offered to them in December.
"The company enjoys a bright prospect for growth," said Wu. "That's why it
has wooed so many investors despite its high price-to-earnings ratio."
China Life's PE ratio tops as high as 97.8, while the figure for main
big-caps are in the region of around 30.
The bullish sentiment in the mainland stock market contributed to the heavy
buying of China Life shares, analysts said. The Shanghai Composite Index gained
130 percent in 2006, rebounding from a five-year low.
China Galaxy Securities Co and China International Capital Corp are the
underwriters for China Life's share sale. The insurer's shares ended at HK$26.10
(US$3.35) in Hong Kong on Friday, down 3.3 percent. Its H shares have nearly
doubled since September as the insurer announced its plan to sell shares on the
mainland.
China Life, already listed in New York and Hong Kong, will be followed by
Ping An Insurance, the second-biggest insurer on China's mainland, to go public
on the mainland.
Shenzhen-based Ping An plans to sell up to 1.15 billion A shares in Shanghai.
China mainland's insurance market is growing due to the rising middle class's
need for financial protection. The government is also supporting the commercial
insurance market, as part of the mainland's US$1.9 trillion household savings
could be channeled to it.
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