The People's Insurance Co (Group) of China (PICC), the country's leading insurance conglomerate, has achieved material progress in bringing in a strategic investor, thus paving the way for its listing, the group's top management said Tuesday.

"We've entered the final stage of discussions, and the deal will be definitely inked in the fourth quarter," said Zhou Shurui, chairman of the auditing committee of PICC Group. He declined to give more details about the partner but said it is a domestic company.

"As soon as we bring in the strategic investor, we can quickly embark on the listing procedure according to the time window," Zhou added.

By the end of August, the group had realized profits of 4 billion yuan, with its assets totaling 389.8 billion yuan. Its premium income exceeded 170 billion yuan, up 35 percent from the same period last year.

(China Daily September 14, 2010)