China Life rises on new business value growth

China Life Insurance Co, the nation's biggest insurer, rose by the most in more than a month in Hong Kong trading after reporting an expansion in new business value.

The stock climbed 2 percent, the most since July 19, to HK$20.70 at the close of trading, extending this year's rally to 7.8 percent. New business value, which measures profitability of new policies sold, rose 2.5 percent to 12.5 billion yuan ($1.97 billion) in the first half, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The expansion was "driven primarily by the better than expected margin uplift", Barclays analysts, led by Mark Kellock, wrote in a report on Wednesday. "This suggests significant underlying product mix improvements."

With a profit decline "already in the price, the positive new business value growth and margin expansion, strong growth in book value and embedded value, and a much stronger solvency position are likely to be positively received by the market," Kellock said in the report.

China Daily-Agencies