China Life's application for A-share listing will be examined on Friday, said a public statement released by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) on Monday.

China Life announced last August that it planned to issue around 1.5 billion A-shares and aimed to raise more than 20 billion yuan (about US$2.55 billion).

The leading life insurer in China went public in Hong Kong and New York three years ago, raising US$3.5 billion.

The return to the domestic stock market is out of consideration for the company's future development, said Yang Chao, board director of China Life.

Yang said the money raised would be used to expand the company's market share but did not exclude the possibility of spending the money on purchases.

The underwriters for China Life's A-share listing are China International Capital Co. Ltd. and Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd..

China Insurance (Holdings) Co., headquartered in Hong Kong, also plans to go public in the A-share market. The company was listed in Hong Kong in June 2000 and its market value rose from one billion HK dollars to its current value of 10 billion HK dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2006)