Jan. 5, 2007 (China Knowledge) - The Mainland's second-largest life insurer, Ping An Insurance is targeting a first quarter listing in order to capitalize on the large amount of capital in the Mainland stock market, according to media reports.

With the frenzy in the stock market, Ping An’s early listing would give it an advantage over the others to tap needed capital.

Credit Suisse issued a note in the morning downgrading Ping An and PICC to underperform. China Life was already on that list. "The rise in the China insurers of as much as 50% in a month is sharp and in our view is likely to prove short-lived," Credit Suisse head of financial research Bill Stacey said in the note.

His new target price for Ping An is HK$34, which is 22% below Thursday's close.