'Investors have become more assured of the firm after management gave suggestions on how they will use the money,' Pride Investment Group chief investment officer Lewis Wan said.

Management said the insurer hoped to buy more euro-denominated assets but gave no specific targets.

'We'd like to look for assets in the United States and Europe, where the euro has strengthened against the US dollar by 10 per cent,' president Louis Cheung Chi-yan told shareholders.

Shares of HSBC, Prudential and Aviva rose on Wednesday night in London on talk they might be Ping An's targets. HSBC rose 0.66 per cent in Hong Kong trading yesterday.

The insurer is said to be eyeing a stake in HSBC, which has made US$17.2 billion of provisions relating to the US subprime credit crisis.

But Ping An chairman Ma Mingzhe tried to blunt the growing speculation during the meeting.

'How can Ping An compare with giant HSBC? They could even record 21 per cent earnings growth despite their huge subprime losses,' he said. 'We are just a small part of HSBC.'

HSBC owns 16.8 per cent of Ping An. The two are developing the domestic insurance market together.

'The relationship has already been built,' Nomura Securities analyst Ben Lin said. 'If shareholders want to buy assets at low valuations, they could invest in HSBC directly instead.'

Meanwhile, Fan Fuchun, vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said yesterday he had exchanged views with Mr Ma on Ping An's refinancing plan, hoping the insurer could factor market reactions into its share sale.

Ping An had yet to submit the application to the regulator, he said.

Analysts said Mr Fan's remarks suggested the regulator was still wary Ping An's share offering would drain liquidity in the market.

'It is unclear whether CSRC would veto the plan,' a source close to the regulator said.