China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd (CPIC), the country's third-largest life insurer, said on Friday it has revived its plans to float an initial public offering on the Hong Kong bourse, which analysts say could raise at least 23.5 billion yuan ($3.44 billion).

The insurer had abandoned its plans to list on the Hong Kong bourse last year due to the prolonged bearish trend in the markets. It now plans to seek shareholders' approval for the float on August 31.

China Pacific anticipates that the Hong Kong listing would help accelerate business expansion and help catch up with rivals China Life and Ping An, experts said.

"Floating shares will definitely help the company better expand its business but is not likely to largely enhance its profitability," said Wang Xiaogang, senior analyst with Shanghai-based Orient Securities.

In a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday, China Pacific said the IPO would be held within 12 months of obtaining approval from the company's shareholders.

According to the statement, the insurer plans to offer up to 1 billion shares in Hong Kong at no less than the average price of its Shanghai-listed A shares in the last 20 trading days.

In that case, China Pacific's H shares are expected to be priced at around 23.5 yuan and thus could raise around 23.5 billion yuan from Hong Kong market.

The Shanghai-listed shares of China Pacific closed at 28.81 yuan on Friday, up 3.34 percent, compared to the 0.19 percent increase of Shanghai Composite Index.

China Pacific had pledged not to list shares in Hong Kong at a value below its December 2007 Shanghai IPO of 30 yuan per share, thus deferring its Hong Kong IPO plan as the market plunged last year.

"It is understandable that this time China Pacific prices its Hong Kong shares lower as the market changes," said Wang. "Besides, for dual-listed Chinese firms, their H shares mostly trade below their A shares."

US private equity giant Carlyle became China Pacific's first foreign investor in late 2005 and now holds a 17 percent stake in the insurer.

Carlyle is unlikely to sell its entire stake but may offload a small portion after the IPO as it remains keen to make its deal with China Pacific a showcase for its investment success in Asia, Reuters cited unnamed sources as saying.