Ping An first-half net slides 15pc

Ping An Insurance (2318) said its first-half net profit slid 15.5 percent year on year to 58 billion yuan (HK$69.6 billion).

The shrink in profit was mainly because of the impairment provisions to investments on China Fortune Land Development, the indebted mainland developer.

Its new business value from the life and health insurance business dropped 11.7 percent to 27.4 billion yuan. A 36 percent slump in revenue to 29.3 billion yuan was recorded as well.

The mainland's largest insurer proposed an interim dividend of 88 fen per share, up 10 percent from last year.

Separately, the company will use five to 10 billion yuan to repurchase its A shares with internal financial resources.

The president of China Life (2628), Su Hengxuan, said generally low business growth in China's insurance industry in the first half came about due to residents' declining consumption desires - people are more cautious about non-essential consumption and long-term expenditures.

Its counterpart ZA Online (6060) reported net profit increased 58 percent to 604 million yuan in the first half of 2021, mainly due to the net profit in its underwriting business and an increase in investment income. No dividend was declared.

The total gross written premium in the first half jumped 45 percent to 9.84 billion yuan year on year.

Meanwhile, New China Life Insurance (1336) saw its interim net profit rise 28 percent to 10.5 billion yuan. While the company saw a 4 percent growth in GWP to 100.6 billion yuan, its new business value fell nearly 22 percent to 4.1 billion yuan.