China Pacific Insurance Group has reported a net profit for 2014 of RMB11bn ($1.7bn), an increase of 19% on the RMB9.2bn it recorded in 2013.
The company attributed the increase to a rise in investment income. Net investment income rose to RMB36.7bn, an increase of 16.9%, with the net investment yield standing at 5.3%, up by 0.3%. Total investment yield reached 6.1%, up 1.1%, the highest in five years.
According to the company the increase was mainly from higher interest income from fixed income investments and higher dividend income from equities.
Total assets under management (AUM) increased by 21.6% from RMB7bn in 2013 to RMB910.5bn in 2014 of which in-house AUM stood at RMB761.8bn, rising 14.3% from the end of 2013, and third-party AUM RMB148.6bn, an increase of 80.7% versus the end of 2013.
China Pacific Insurance said that over 2014 its asset management business had been able to adapt to regulatory changes in China, such as the deregulation of life insurance rates and the liberalisation of investment for insurance companies, and delivered a rapid increase in assets under management as well as a steady rise in investment yields.