PICC posts over 38% increase in H1 net profit

The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd, China's leading insurer, reported a 38.5 percent rise in first-half net profit, driven by stronger investment returns and improved underwriting profitability at its core property and casualty insurance business.

Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 36.75 billion yuan ($5.47 billion) in the six months ended June 30, the insurer said in its interim report released on Friday. Insurance service revenue rose 2.4 percent year-on-year to 286.87 billion yuan.

Total investment income surged 59.9 percent year-on-year to 66.33 billion yuan, lifting the unannualized total investment yield by 1.1 percentage points to 3.7 percent.

PICC increased its exposure to publicly traded equities during the period. Its stock holdings rose to 194.6 billion yuan at the end of June from 166.2 billion yuan at the end of 2025, increasing their share of total investment assets to 9.7 percent from 8.7 percent.

The insurer said it had increased investment in equities offering long-term value and stable dividend income while seeking to capture structural opportunities in the market.

However, its unannualized net investment yield, which largely reflects interest and dividend income, fell 0.2 percentage points to 1.7 percent, in line with pressure of lower interest rates across China's insurance industry.

At PICC Property and Casualty Co Ltd, underwriting profit rose 19.8 percent year-on-year to 14.01 billion yuan, while its combined ratio, a key measure of underwriting profitability, improved by 0.8 percentage points to 94.5 percent.

The unit's original premium income increased 1.3 percent year-on-year to 327.53 billion yuan, with motor insurance generating an underwriting profit of 9.92 billion yuan.

PICC life's original premium income declined 5.9 percent year-on-year to 85.16 billion yuan, although premiums from participating life policies more than doubled. Its new business value rose 5.2 percent year-on-year to 5.18 billion yuan.

Cai Zhiwei, the company's vice-president said the group plans to increase investment in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, green energy, aerospace and biomedicine, among other areas aligned with national development priorities.

The company proposed an interim dividend of 0.11 yuan per share.