PING An Insurance (Group) Co may change its share-sale plan to a private placement to selected banks, China Times reported, citing an unidentified person within the company.

Ping An won't ask for "a penny" from holders of its yuan-denominated shares, the Beijing-based, Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday, citing the person. The company has started telling clients about the change, it said.

The report didn't give more details.

Investors on March 5 approved the plan by China's second-largest insurer to sell as many as 1.2 billion new yuan-denominated shares. The company's stock has dropped 48 percent in Shanghai this year, more than the 39-percent decline of the benchmark CSI 300 Index.