Citywide Covid-19 lockdowns and nervous consumers continue to disrupt sales at Ping An, China’s largest insurer, hamstringing its agents and reducing demand for long-term protection products.
Ping An, which boasts a $100bn market cap, is navigating the economic effects of the pandemic in its home market at the same time as fighting a battle with HSBC, using its position as the largest shareholder to call for a break-up of the banking group.
The insurer delivered net profit of Rmb60.3bn ($8.8bn) in the first half of the year, up 4 per cent on the same period last year and more than a tenth ahead of analyst expectations, according to Bloomberg data.