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China Life Insurance Co, the country's largest insurer, is said to be ready to pay 3.6 billion yuan for a 60 percent stake of Zhongcheng Trust & Investment Corp.

Zhongcheng is one of 30 managers of Chinese pension funds. In the 1980s and '90s, it was the largest of the nation's trust and investment companies.

"China Life and Zhongcheng are waiting for official confirmation after handing over their application for the deal to the Ministry of Finance (MOF)," said sources close to the MOF.

China Life is to acquire 1.44 billion shares in Zhongcheng's equity to become its majority stockholder - by buying 1.2 billion new shares and an existing 240 million shares from Zhongcheng - all at an estimated price of 2.5 yuan per share.

"After Zhongcheng's new issue, the MOF will no longer be its largest shareholder," an unnamed Beijing-based financial analyst told China Daily. "It would become its second-largest by holding a 16 percent stake."

It is not known whether the MOF will eventually give up all its Zhongcheng holdings following the China Life takeover. With the 1.2 billion new shares, Zhongcheng's shares will total 2.4 billion, the analyst said.

Its profit has grown rapidly in recent years due to the performance of its subsidiaries in domestic investment services.

"Zhongcheng has already earned its license as a manager of China's corporate annuities. That can help China Life easily expand into a new business area," the analyst said.

With an aging population in the country, the annuity business is becoming increasingly attractive to life insurers.

Statistics from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security show that the corporate annuity fund, which covers 9.64 million people, had 91 billion yuan in assets in 2006, but only 15.8 billion yuan, or 17 percent, was managed by professional investors.

A total of 30 financial institutions, including insurers and securities and trust companies, are currently designated as custodians, trustees and asset managers for corporate annuity management.

It is the latest in China Life's aggressive merger and acquisition moves. It bought 20 percent of Guangdong Development Bank for 5.67 billion yuan last year, gaining access to 500 banking outlets to sell its insurance and investment products.

Last month, it became the largest shareholder in China Minsheng Banking Corp, a leading bank not owned by the State, after buying 714 million new shares for 5.45 billion yuan.

China Life's cash, the analyst said, came in part from increases in profit of more than 200 percent from 2005 to 2006.

(China Daily July 18 2007)