Five insurers see at least 4% yield on universal life products
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Five insurance companies managed to achieve yields of at least 4% on universal life insurance products, beating their competitors in the market, reports the media.
The five insurers are Sunshine Life Insurance which reported the highest yield of 4.77% on one of its products; Ping An Insurance (4.62%); Generali China Life Insurance (4.32%); Taikang Life Insurance (4.17%) and New China Life Insurance (4%).
Products launched by most insurers in China, however, stood at less than 4% in 2009. Statistics show that over 20 insurers in the market rolled out universal life insurance products last year.
HuaKang wins China's first National Insurance Agency licence
HuaKang Financial Services, the largest Chinese life insurance agency, has consolidated its 17 subsidiaries and is eyeing a public listing in 2011, according to the media.
The CIRC recently permitted the existing 17 subsidiaries across the country to be consolidated under HuaKang's Shenzhen subsidiary, and all subsidiaries will then be upgraded to branches. With the regulatory go-ahead, Shenzhen HuaKang Insurance Agency can now set up its own branches in China and develop insurance agency businesses, says the regulator.
Mr Lin Huaqing, director of marketing at HuaKang, says that the consolidation not only increases the company's operational efficiency and standardise its tax management, but also "strengthens market confidence in the company and the overall life insurance agency sector in China".
"To strengthen the company's business performance in 2010, we will stay focused on our business strategy to further develop the suburban markets of the first-tier cities in China," he said. For the first nine months of 2009, Guangzhou-based HuaKang says that it held around 25% market share in the Chinese life insurance agency sector. The company commanded more than 50% market share in several provincial markets, such as Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Tianjin and Chongqing.
In 2009, HuaKang achieved total premiums of more than 1 billion yuan (US$146 million). Of that, 85% came from the term life sector, while the remaining 15% was from the general insurance sector. In the term life segment, new policies accounted for 360 million yuan, said Mr Lin. He adds that in 2011, HuaKang aims to go public. "We are currently in the preliminary stage of the listing arrangement and we will decide the listing location in mid-2010," said Mr Lin.
Shanghai to raise retirement age to cope with pension deficit
The municipal government in Shanghai, China's business hub, plans to raise the city's retirement age to relieve pressure on the city's pension fund, according to reports in the state media.
Vice Mayor Hu Yanzhao said earlier this month that the city's pension fund had fallen into deficit as more than a fifth of the population had reached the end of their working lives. No details were given of the extent of the deficit.
"We will put off the retirement age of citizens, especially for female professionals," Mr Hu was quoted as telling a government meeting. Mr Hu did not say by how many years the retirement age would be raised. At present, the retirement age is 60 for men and 50 or 55 for women, depending on the job held.
The number of people aged 60 and older in China's biggest city is expected to rise to 3.12 million this year. Concerned about the city's ageing population, Shanghai's head of family planning said last year that couples would be encouraged to have two children if they qualified under exceptions to the country's one-child policy. If both spouses are the only children, they are allowed to have more than one child under the rules.
The fire that destroyed a spanking new building in Beijing in 2009 that belonged to the China Central Television, the country's national broadcaster, caused 163.83 million yuan (US$24 million) of direct economic losses, an investigation group appointed by the State Council has announced.
The Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate is prosecuting 23 suspects involved in the fire caused by fireworks in February 2009. Media reports say the criminal charges will very likely concern causing an accident by using hazardous materials. One firefighter died and six were injured during the fire. Fireworks, which were part of the then Lunar New Year festivities, were set off inappropriately at the site, and caused a blaze in the 30-story building which housed the nearly-completed Mandarin Oriental Hotel and part of CCTV's new headquarters.
The tower was covered by the Contractor's All Risks Insurance of the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) Property and Casualty Company, when the fire broke out. But, this particular insurance usually stipulates that the insurance company does not need to pay the coverage if it is the fault of the insured that the damage to the asset was caused, says Mr Ma Guohua, a member of the Beijing Lawyers Association.
Meanwhile, PICC has yet to determine whether setting off fireworks on the construction site represented a major dereliction of duty.
Ping An Insurance, China's second largest insurer, has announced that three of its mainland shareholders would sell more than 800 million restricted A-shares over the next five years after the three-year lock-up period for these shares expires on 1 March.
About 860 million restricted A-shares, (which are shares traded by locals on mainland Chinese bourses), or 11.7% of the insurer's existing share capital, held by the three shareholders would become available. The shareholders can unload their shares each year representing up to 30% of their respective shareholding in the insurer as of 28 February, according to a company statement.
The three shareholders - Shenzhen New Horse Investment Development, Shenzhen Jingao Industrial Development, and Shenzhen Jiangnan Industrial Development - hold a respective 5.30, 4.51 and 1.89% stake in the Chinese insurer.
The announcement came at a time of high volatility in the stock market which has been affected by the central government's announcement earlier this month that it was tightening credit to curb an overheating economy.
