Companies & Markets

China's Ping An Insurance first-half profit falls 1.2%, retail business weakens

Published Tue, Aug 29, 2023 · 08:09 PM

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China on Tuesday (Aug 29) reported a 1.2 per cent drop in first-half net profit.

The insurance giant posted a net profit of 69.84 billion yuan (S$12.9 billion), down from 70.73 billion a year earlier, it said in a filing.

Ping An’s main profit earner, its retail business, which accounted for 83 per cent of the insurance group’s overall income, dropped 10.4 per cent in the first half from a year ago.

That result came against an 1.8 per cent increase in the total number of retail clients, with operating profit per client weakening by 12 per cent, the filing showed.

“Despite new challenges to economic growth and continued pressure on growth stabilisation”, the firm remains optimistic about the long-term fundamentals of China’s economy and potential of China’s insurance and financial markets, company chairman Ma Mingzhe said in the filing.

The insurer, which is the largest shareholder in HSBC, has been engaged in a public battle since November with the Asia-focused bank. HSBC in May fended off the activist proposal backed by Ping An to spin off its Asia business. REUTERS