China Pacific Insurance Co Ltd (CPIC), the country's third largest life insurer, will increase investment in alternative assets, including utility, energy and infrastructure projects, to better serve the national economy, senior executives of the insurer said on Wednesday.

The insurer has invested about 130 billion yuan ($20 billion) in about 80 projects, ranging from urban utilities and infrastructure and energy, to environmental protection and public housing, according to Ma Xin, CPIC's board secretary and spokesman.

Wang Cheng, general manager for fixed-income investment at Pacific Asset Management Co, the investment arm of the insurer, said the company is boosting investment in alternative assets while adjusting its portfolio and expanding its scope to equity-related assets.

"Given that the valuations of listed companies have substantially risen in the first half of the year, we are now strengthening our research capability in specific industries and companies. We prefer to invest in listed companies with long-term growth potential," Wang said.

The value of CPIC's investment assets reached 1.03 trillion yuan by the end of the first half of this year. Fixed-income assets are worth about 829 billion yuan, accounting for 80.5 percent of its total assets, according to CPIC.

Lu Huiqi, general manager for strategic planning at CPIC's life insurance unit, said the company's life insurance business will maintain rapid growth in the second half of the year, supported by the surging sales of protection products.

"The value of new business grew by 59 percent in the first half of the year. The main reason is the rapid growth of protection products which grew by 73.8 percent," Lu said.