China's top securities regulator has approved the public stock offer application of Chinese insurance giant People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (PICC) for a listing in Shanghai.

The company and its underwriters will confirm the schedule for listing at the Shanghai Stock Exchange and release the prospectus following discussions with the bourse, reports the Xinhua news agency.

Under the current IPO system, new shares are subject to approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). China is gradually switching from an approval to registration-based IPO system.

PICC, with headquarters in Beijing, has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2012. With its return to the A-share market, the company will become China's fifth insurance company listed on both the A-share and H-share markets.

In the first half of 2018, the premium income of PICC reached CNY286.16bn, up by 2.3% year on year, according to the company's half-year report.

The company's net profit saw a 12.2% surge to CNY14.35bn in 1H2018.