SHANGHAI: Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, China’s second largest insurer, posted a robust 62 percent annual surge in net profit in the first half of the year as it benefitted from higher returns in stock investment while its life insurance business expanded.
Its net earnings in the first six months totaled 34.6 billion yuan (US$5.4 billion), the Shenzhen-based insurer said.
Investment income of the company surged 235.6 percent year on year to 78.3 billion yuan as the Shanghai Composite Index rose more than 30 percent during the period.
The insurer’s sterling results were also boosted by a 16.5-percent annual jump in premiums from its life insurance products as the company boosted the number of sales agents by 25 percent from the beginning of the year to nearly 800,000.
Profit at Ping An’s banking unit rose 15 percent during the first six months, while that of its securities arm soared 217.4 percent during the same period, the company said.
