By LU Wenqi
China Life Insurance made 579 billion yuan (about US$80 billion) in the first three quarters, with a net profit of 16 billion yuan, down by half.
China Life’s net profit in Q3 of 53 million yuan can only be described as disastrous, standing at only 1 percent of the figure from a year ago.
China Life VP LIU Hui attempted to shift the blame for the losses to the equity market itself, along with a downturn in fixed-income yields in a low-interest rate environment.
“In 2022, the equity market experienced a significant retreat, and as an institutional investor, the company made some equity asset allocations at relatively low levels last year. However, this year, the capital market has remained in a low and volatile state. Under these circumstances, holding equity portfolios for over a year resulted in a certain loss in equity spread, thus placing periodic pressure on the company’s overall investment income,” said Liu, who is blithely optimistic about a reduction in impairments in Q4.
Driven by robust savings demand rather than conventional insurance needs, premiums have reached their highest levels in nearly three years. New business in the first three quarters increased by 14 percent YoY, and renewals reached 380 billion yuan.
The China Life’s sales force consists of 720,000, including 660,000 in individual insurance.
