PICC rises most in nine months on profit surge

PICC Property & Casualty Co, China's biggest non-life insurer, rose the most in almost nine months in Hong Kong after reporting a 24 percent jump in profits on higher underwriting revenue and investment income.

The stock increased 7.3 percent, the most since Dec 1, to HK$9.44 ($1.22) at the close of trading, as the benchmark Hang Seng Index was little changed. Its first-half net income climbed to 6.53 billion yuan ($1 billion), from 5.3 billion yuan a year earlier, the Beijing-based insurer said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.

Premium growth and controls on claims and expenses helped Chairman Wu Yan offset the impact of stock market declines on PICC's equity holdings.

"The strong earnings mainly came from a stable combined ratio and higher interest income," Nomura International Hong Kong Ltd analysts, led by David Chung, wrote in a note on Monday. "While these are reasons for the share price to react positively to the result, we continue to see the upcoming listing of the parent, PICC Group, to be a key overhang."

China Daily- Agencies