Shanghai-based property insurer Tianan Insurance Co. plans to make an initial public offering, but it is unlikely to happen this year.

Tianan Insurance collected CNY6.39 billion of premiums in 2006, ranking it fifth among domestic property insurers, data from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission showed.

The company has set up an office to prepare for the IPO, said the official at the company's general office who declined to be named. The state-run Securities Times reported Wednesday that Tianan Insurance will likely make an initial offering of shares this year or early next year to raise CNY3.5 billion. It wasn't clear from the report, which cited an unnamed source, where the company plans to list its shares.