PING An Insurance, China’s second-largest insurer, will not pursue a plan to issue new yuan-denominated shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange for at least six months given current turbulent market conditions.

The Shenzhen-based company, which is seeking to raise billions of dollars to pay for acquisitions, issued the statement in a notice Friday. Rumors that Ping An might go ahead and issue new A shares in Shanghai rocked domestic share markets earlier last week.

In January, it announced plans for massive fundraising plans through stock and bond issues, but that plan drew criticism given mounting investor worries over a potential glut of shares in the market.

A severe correction, which recently took the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index to about half the level of its all-time peak reached in mid-October last year, has meanwhile prompted the postponement of many share issue plans.

“Given the recent volatile capital market in China, the timing and condition for making the application for refinancing ... is not yet mature,” Ping An’s statement said.

“The company will take into account the market conditions and the acceptance level of investors in considering the timing for the application and issue of A shares,” it said, adding that the application would not be made for at least six months.

Ping An’s business includes life, property and casualty insurance. The insurer had 583 billion yuan (US$82 billion) in assets as of June 2007. The company also owns a bank. (SD-Agencies)