China Life is set to issue A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Jan. 9. China Life Insurance, already listed on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges, has said that it plans to issue around 1.5 billion A-shares on the Shanghai bourse.

China Life's H-share at the Hong Kong bourse rose 5.42 percent to 20.60 HK dollars last Friday. The stock has almost tripled in value this year as rising incomes in the world's fastest growing economy spur demand for insurance policies.

By the end of June this year, total assets of China Life were valued at 616.9 billion yuan (80 billion U.S. dollars), double that of 2003 when the company was first listed in New York and Hong Kong. In the first six months of this year, China Life registered a net profit of 8.97 billion yuan (1.15 billion U.S. dollars), almost matching profits earned in all of 2005.

Industry insiders are optimistic about China Life's latest public offering, as Chin's life insurance market is forecast to grow 15 percent a year over the next five years. China Life is the largest domestic life insurer, cornering half of the market share.

Flush with cash, China Life has been diversifying its investment portfolios with a number of major purchases. It recently spent 35 billion yuan (4.49 billion U.S. dollars) to buy 32 percent of the Guangdong-based China Southern Power Grid. Earlier it purchased a 20 percent stake in the Guangzhou Development Bank.