China Pacific starts pre-marketing HK share sale

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HONG KONG, March 3 (Reuters) - China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co (601601.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the country's third-largest life underwriter, began pre-marketing a Hong Kong share sale on Monday that would raise roughly $3.8 billion based on the price of its Shanghai-listed stock, a source familiar with the deal said.

The company plans to sell 783 million shares in Hong Kong, or 9.2 percent of its enlarged share capital, not counting an overallotment option, in a deal handled by China International Capital Corp, Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the source said.

China Pacific's Shanghai shares were down 1.16 percent at 34.80 yuan each in early Monday trade. (Reporting by Tony Munroe; editing by Anne Marie Roantree)