Beijing-based China Life offered 18.88 yuan apiece for its A shares. The company raised 28.32 billion yuan by selling 1.5 billion yuan-denominated A shares.

"The company enjoys a bright prospect for growth," said Wu. "That's why it has wooed so many investors despite its high price-to-earnings ratio."

China Life's PE ratio tops as high as 97.8, while the figure for main big-caps are in the region of around 30.

The bullish sentiment in the mainland stock market contributed to the heavy buying of China Life shares, analysts said. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 130 percent in 2006, rebounding from a five-year low.

China Galaxy Securities Co and China International Capital Corp are the underwriters for China Life's share sale. The insurer's shares ended at HK$26.10 (US$3.35) in Hong Kong on Friday, down 3.3 percent. Its H shares have nearly doubled since September as the insurer announced its plan to sell shares on the mainland.

China Life, already listed in New York and Hong Kong, will be followed by Ping An Insurance, the second-biggest insurer on China's mainland, to go public on the mainland.

Shenzhen-based Ping An plans to sell up to 1.15 billion A shares in Shanghai.

China mainland's insurance market is growing due to the rising middle class's need for financial protection. The government is also supporting the commercial insurance market, as part of the mainland's US$1.9 trillion household savings could be channeled to it.

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