HONG KONG: Shares in Ping An Insurance (Group) surged to a high yesterday after the insurer posted strong earnings late Tuesday and vowed to explore the non-insurance sector yesterday.

Its shares touched HK$27.8 (US$3.56), an all-time high since its listing in June 2004, before easing to end the day at HK$26.65 (US$3.42). The closing price was 1.52 per cent higher than the previous close.

The mainland''s second-largest insurer recorded an 83 per cent growth in net profit for the first half of 2006 to 4.1 billion yuan (US$513 million) on the back of premium increases.

Gross written premiums, policy fees and premium deposits from life insurance increased 25 per cent to 37.1 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion), while its total assets were up 12.2 per cent to 358 billion yuan (US$44.8 billion) from the end of last year.

Ma Mingzhe, chairman and CEO of Ping An, said yesterday in Hong Kong that the company will further explore non-insurance sectors.

"We hope the growth rate of banking and asset management businesses rises from single-digit to double-digit in the long run," he told reporters.

In July, Ping An entered into an agreement to buy 89.24 per cent of Shenzhen Commercial Bank for 4.91 billion yuan (US$614 million), in an apparent attempt to boost its presence in the banking sector.

Ma said the deal is still pending approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Shenzhen regulators and shareholders. He said the firm hoped to finish the transaction by the end of the year. - China Daily