The rally has prompted lawmakers including Cheng Siwei, the vice chairman of the Nation's People Congress, to express concern over a stock market ``bubble.'' Yuan shares have fallen 6 percent after he first made the comment on Jan. 30.

Shares traded on the mainland can be "volatile," said Simon Hua, an executive director of research at BOC International in Shanghai. "But they've gone down a bit. The valuations are quite reasonable now."

Ping An's Hong Kong-traded shares have lost a fifth of their value since reaching a record on Jan. 3, making it the worst performer on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks Chinese state-owned companies traded in Hong Kong. The index has dropped 7.9 percent.

Stock Slide

China Life's yuan shares have slid 7.3 percent after more than doubling on their first day of trading in Shanghai a month ago. They rose 4 percent to close at 36.10 yuan today.

Ping An's yuan-denominated shares will be sold at no more than a 17 percent discount to its Hong Kong closing price yesterday, based on the announced range. China Life priced its yuan shares at a 20 percent discount, which has since turned into a 50 percent premium over its Hong Kong shares.

Between today and Feb. 12, Ping An will sell as many as 345 million shares, or 30 percent of the total offering, to ``strategic'' investors and 287.5 million, or 25 percent, to fund managers, the statement said. The rest will be sold to individuals.

HSBC hasn't said whether it will buy any shares. China Galaxy Securities Co., Citic Securities Co. and Goldman Gaohua Securities Co. are managing the sale.

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