China Life trims CITIC Securities stake below 5 pct

SHANGHAI, July 1 (Reuters) - CITIC Securities Co (600030.SS), China's largest listed brokerage, said on Tuesday that China Life Insurance (Group) Co had cut its stake in the brokerage to 4.97 percent from 5.32 percent.

The brokerage in a statement to the stock exchange gave no reason for the sale of the 22.8 million shares, but the official Shanghai Securities News quoted industry sources as saying the sale, at a time when many firms are refraining from unloading share holdings, may have been intended to bolster China Life's first-half results.

The paper also estimated that, at CITIC Securities' closing price of 23.92 yuan on Monday, China Life had gained 5.87 billion yuan ($856 million) on its initial purchase of 150 million shares in the brokerage, via a rise in the share price and after-tax dividends.

It added that China Life's listed unit, China Life Insurance Co (601628.SS) (2628.HK), had acquired 350 million CITIC Securities shares. ($1=6.854 Yuan) (Reporting by Edmund Klamann; editing by Jonathan Hopfner)