On Wednesday, China’s largest insurer by market value, Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd (601318. SS), announced a 48.9% increase in first-quarter net profit due to higher investment income.
Its January-March profit was 38.4 billion yuan ($5.55 billion).
“The domestic economy continued to recover in the first three months of 2023, with household consumption picking up steadily,” the business said in the filing.
“Global capital markets remained volatile in a complex international environment,” it stated.
The group’s gross written premiums grew 2.1% to 133.1 billion yuan from the year before, while retail customers rose 0.9% to 228.6 million.
The statement revealed 29.7 billion yuan in investment income in the first quarter, up to 26.1 billion a year earlier.
The insurer owns most of HSBC (HSBA.L). Since November, when Ping An requested the bank to spin off its successful Asia unit to boost shareholder returns, the two corporations have been in public conflict.
HSBC’s annual shareholder meeting is on May 5.
