Ping An Insurance, China's second-largest life insurer, said it aimed to expand its banking and asset management operations through acquisitions in an effort to become an integrated financial services provider. Chief operating officer and chief financial officer Louis Cheung told the Financial Times it was studying a few deals internally. Some analysts said the expansion plan could put the company, in which HSBC has a 20% stake, under financial pressure, but Cheung said the company had about US$1.87 billion in cash and no debt. Cheung expects insurance, banking and fund management each to contribute one-third to its bottom line in a decade.