China's Ping An Insurance H1 profit jumps 139.5 per cent

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, China's second-largest life insurer, posted about a 139.5 per cent gain in first-half profit, driven by contributions from its Shenzhen Commercial Bank unit and strong investment returns.

Ping An, which trails market leader China Life Insurance Co, reported net profit of 9.969 billion yuan ($NZ1.93 billion) in the six months ending June 30, compared with 4.162 billion yuan in the year-earlier period.

On average, three analysts polled by Reuters expected the Shenzhen-based company to earn 9.43 billion yuan.

Last month, Ping An said it expected its first-half net profit to more than double based on domestic accounting standards, boosted by increased returns from its fledgling banking and investment businesses.