Premium income of China Life up 14 pct in 2006

China Life, which listed on the Shanghai A-share market earlier this month, announced Friday that its income from insurance premiums in 2006 jumped by 14.2 percent to 183.8 billion yuan (23.6 billion U.S. dollars), said a company report.

China Life is the dominant player in the country's life insurance market. It reported a premium revenue of 160.949 billion yuan in 2005, with a 44.1 percent market share.

Analysts expect the market share of China Life to reach 49 percent in 2006.

Hong Kong-listed China Life returned to the mainland stock market in January with a spectacular result. The stock, which was first issued at 18.88 yuan per share, jumped to 43.47 yuan on Thursday on a rise of 130 percent.

With China's insurance industry expanding, China Life's share prices are likely to continue to rise, predicts Shao Ziqin, an analyst with Ping An Securities.

Source: Xinhua