China Pacific jumps 70 pct in Shanghai debut

(For expanded IPO diaries, click <CN/IPOMENU> <HK/IPOMENU>)

SHANGHAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Shares in China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co (CPIC) opened up 70 percent in their debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday, near the higher end of market expectations, buoyed by its position in the world's fastest growing major insurance market.

Local-currency A shares (601601.SS) in China's third-biggest life insurer jumped to 51.0 yuan from an initial public offering price of 30.0 yuan. A Reuters survey of five industry analysts forecast the shares to move in a range of 43 yuan to 52 yuan on the first day of trading.

The opening price gave its U.S. investors combined book-value returns of $8.5 billion, or more than 10 times their investment, in just a few months.

Parallel Investors Holdings Ltd, an overseas investment arm of U.S. insurer Prudential Financial (PRU.N), and a unit of U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] bought a combined 1.33 billion CPIC shares in May at a price of only 4.27 yuan each, although they have promised that they would hold their stakes for at least three years.

In its IPO, CPIC raised $4.1 billion by selling 1 billion A shares, or 13 percent of its expanded capital, to boost its capital base. It has also said it would seek to issue up to 900 million H shares for a Hong Kong listing, although it has yet to announce a timetable for the H-share offer.

It has said its H shares would be priced no lower than its Shanghai shares' 30 yuan each, meaning its H-share offer could raise as much as $3.7 billion and bring the total amount to be raised in its two equity offers to $7.8 billion. ($1=7.33 Yuan) (Reporting by Lu Jianxin; Editing by Edmund Klamann)