China Life Insurance Reports 8.0% Decline in Net Profit for First Half of 2021

By Kosaku Narioka

China Life Insurance has released its first-half results, revealing an 8.0% decrease in net profit compared to the same period last year. The company reported a net profit of 36.15 billion yuan ($4.96 billion) for the six months ended June 30. This decline is attributed to ongoing volatility in the equity market and changes in accounting standards.

Highlights:

Revenue Decline

First-half revenue experienced a slight decline of 1.3% from the previous year, amounting to CNY186.32 billion.

Profitability

The return on equity decreased to 7.55% in the first half, down from 9.72% in the same period last year.

Premium Growth

Gross written premiums saw a positive growth of 6.9% in the first half, reaching CNY470.115 billion. This growth was mainly driven by a 9.0% increase in premiums from the life insurance business.

Investments

China Life Insurance strategically increased allocation in bonds with long durations, seizing the opportunity presented by interest-rate rebounds at the beginning of the year. As of the end of June, approximately 72% of the total CNY5.387 trillion in investment assets was invested in fixed-maturity financial assets, while 18% was allocated to equity financial assets.