Shares of China Pacific Insurance (Group) are expected to jump at least 33 per cent on their trading debut today amid mainland investors' mounting interest in insurers with strong life and property divisions.
The mainland's third-largest insurer, part-owned by US buyout group Carlyle, was set to exceed 40 yuan on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, against an initial public offering price of 30 yuan, analysts said.
'It will be the first insurer that is strong in both life and property businesses,' said Liu Jing, a Changjiang Securities analyst. 'Its property business is particularly eye-popping on the backdrop of China's buoyant economy.'
China Life Insurance and Ping An Insurance (Group) are the only two publicly traded insurers on the mainland, with core business focusing on life policies.
Pacific Insurance raised 30 billion yuan from the share sale early this month, offering one billion A shares, or 12.99 per cent of its enlarged capital.
The Shanghai-based company is expected to post a net profit of 6.22 billion yuan this year, up 450 per cent from a year ago, according to a research report by Guotai Junan Securities. About 2.8 billion yuan of the profit came from the property division, it said.
Still, analysts said Pacific Insurance lagged behind its main rivals in terms of its operations.