CHINA Life Insurance said profit fell 37 per cent last year as a stock-market rout eroded investment returns while Covid lockdowns and outbreaks hampered sales.

Net income for the nation’s largest life insurer dropped to 32.1 billion yuan (S$6.2 billion) from 50.8 billion yuan a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday (Mar 29).

Slumping stocks and an economic slowdown added challenges to chairman Bai Tao’s first year at the helm, as he sought to prevent a probe into predecessor Wang Bin from disrupting a shift to higher-margin, long-term products just as the pandemic hampered demand.

While the economy’s reopening has bolstered prospects for insurers this year, a surge in Covid cases hampered the fourth quarter, also dragging down profit at competitor Ping An Insurance (Group). REUTERS