The amount of money subscribing to the initial public offering (IPO) of China Life Insurance has hit a record high of 832.5 billion yuan (about 104.1 billion US dollars), indicating substantive liquidity in the Chinese market.

The country''s top insurer has priced the 1.5 billion A-shares at 18.88 yuan, and it is estimated to raise 28.32 billion yuan from the scheduled Jan. 9 IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Thursday''s Shanghai Securities News reported.

As the first insurer listed on the yuan-denominated A-share market, China Life deserved the warm reception with China''s insurance sector running in full swing over these years, said Lin Jin, an analyst with Shenyin and Wanguo Securities.

Institutional investors played a major role in the subscription. Ten major domestic insurance players took away a total of 137.3 million shares, while 136 fund companies constituted the largest group of off-line subscribers.

Many fund companies have absorbed hefty capital from the recent fund issues, with which they can pour into the stock market, according to sources with the Huaxia Fund Management Company.

China Merchants Securities, a major security company, predicted the China Life A-shares would surge to 35 yuan within a year and top 90 yuan within three years.

China Life is already listed on the Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges. It took up 44.1 percent of the country''s insurance market share.

During the 10th Five-year Plan (2001-2005) period, China''s insurance sector saw annual growth of 35 percent on average, whilethe country''s economy posted an annual growth rate of 8.8 percent. -China Daily