China Life to boost equity investments

China Life Insurance Co, one of the country's biggest insurers, will increase its allocation to equity investments this year, due to its confidence in the Chinese economy's high-quality growth prospects, said a senior executive.

The company has increased its equity investments through a variety of channels, including stocks, public mutual funds, and private securities funds, Liu Hui, vice-president of the company, told a press conference on Thursday.

The company's equity allocation has been growing steadily in recent years, with a net increase of over 100 billion yuan ($13.76 billion) in 2024 alone, resulting in notable investment returns and contributing to the development of the domestic capital markets, Liu said.

Amid the current low-interest rate environment, this move is of importance in safeguarding the value preservation and appreciation of the company's vast insurance assets, Liu added.

The company reported a 5.5 percent total investment yield for 2024, an increase of 3.07 percentage points compared to the previous year.

The company is optimistic about the high-quality growth potential of the Chinese economy and maintains a relatively positive outlook for the equity market in 2025, Liu said, adding that the company will appropriately increase its exposure to equity investments this year.

In 2024, the company pocketed 106.94 billion yuan in net profits, more than doubling its figure from the year prior. Subsequently, insurer's total premium income hit 671.46 billion yuan last year, up 4.7 percent year-on-year, according to its annual report.

At the end of 2024, the company's total assets stood at 6.77 trillion yuan, and its investment assets had reached 6.61 trillion yuan. The firm's core solvency adequacy ratio reached 153.34 percent at the end of last year, as shown in the report.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn