China Life announces record profits

China Life, China’s largest life insurer, announced record profits in the first half of 2007, doubling numbers from the previous year, Reuters reported. The company issued the report in a memo to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Monday, citing higher premiums and earnings from investments. China Life claimed US$980 million in profit in the first half of 2006. The announcement comes only a few days after claims from Ping An Insurance Group, the country's second-largest insurer, that first-half profits would likely jump more than 100 percent from the previous year, also crediting skyrocketing investment returns. Both reports come after the China Insurance Regulatory Commission raised caps on domestic equities investment in order to provide relief from rising interest rates. The CIRC also announced its plans to allow Chinese insurers to further diversify their investments in foreign bonds and equities.