BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Ping An Insurance, China's second-largest life insurer, is forecasting an annual rise in net profits of more than 50 percent in 2006.

    The company announced Thursday that the forecast was based on the Ministry of Finance guidelines on corporate accounting and theaccounting system for financial enterprises.

    According to the company, the statistics needed to be audited by registered accountants before being published.

    Ping An's business report shows the company made a net profit of 3.33 billion yuan (412.75 million U.S. dollars) in 2005.

    But, in the first three quarters of 2006, the company's net profit totaled 3.67 billion yuan.

    A company source attributed the increased profits to the country's continued economic rise and the growth in consumption.

    Ping An's net profit was 2.1 billion yuan for 2003 and 2.6 billion yuan for 2004.

    Sources said profit rises in 2005 and in the first three quarters of 2006 were largely due to the expansion of the life insurance and property insurance businesses.

    Ping An made its debut on the Shanghai stock exchange on March 1 this year.

    "The listing marks a significant milestone in Ping An's history," said Ma Mingzhe, chief executive officer of the company.

    The company's premium income for 2006 amounted to 85.85 billion Yuan, up 20 percent from the previous year.

    At the end of June last year, the company held a 16.5-percent share of China's life insurance market.