Ease up on insurance industry, minister says

China Insurance Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Dingfu warned investors that overreacting to insurance company problems could threaten industry growth. Since China's three big insurers went public, the insurance industry has changed, Wu was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Wu's remarks appeared to imply other insurers were being tarred with the same brush after suits were filed in the US against China Life Insurance for nondisclosure of audit results of its parent company prior to its New York and Hong Kong US$3.46 billion flotation in December. The audit pointed to irregularities involving US$578 million and a subsequent investigation uncovered more financial issues a month after the subsidiary went public, factors blamed for the poor reception of Ping An Insurance, China's second insurer, when it went public in Hong Kong last month. In the third week of July Ping An was trading nearly 4.6% below its initial offer price of HK$10.33 (US$1.32).