Better times for insurers as investment returns surge

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd, the nation's second-largest insurer, reported a 28.3 percent rise in first-half profit to 17.9 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) on Friday - part of a string of encouraging results for the sector.

Insurers benefited from the performance of the nation's equity market, which significantly increased their investment returns in the first half.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index had a short bull run early in 2013, and it jumped about 20 percent by the end of January from a December low.