CHINA PACIFIC SEES MORE THAN 50% SURGE ON OPENING DAY

The share price of China-based China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co rose by 73% on its opening day of trading on the Shanghai stock exchange last week, before settling back to close up 61% from the opening price of 30 yuan a share, at 48.17 yuan. China Pacific raised the equivalent of US$4.1bn through the sale of 13% of its expanded capital base. China Pacific Group controls the country’s third-largest life assurer and its second-largest p/c insurer, with a 9.5% share of the life market and an 11.6% share in non-life. It generated about two-thirds of its revenue from life sales in the first half of 2007. China Pacific is expected to list a further 900m shares on the Hong Kong bourse before the end of 2008 at “no less” than 30 yuan a share, raising at least a further $3.7bn and bringing the total capital injection to some $7.8bn.