Mon, October 27, 2008
HONG KONG, Oct 27 - Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, China's second-largest life insurer, posted a sharp third-quarter loss after it booked a substantial charge against its investment in troubled Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis.
Ping An, which trails market leader China Life Insurance, reported a net loss of 7.88 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) for the quarter ended September, against a profit of 5.28 billion yuan a year ago.
Under Chinese accounting standards, its third quarter loss came to 7.807 billion yuan.
The company said this month it would book a loss of about 15.7 billion yuan on its investment in Fortis, the result of marking down the market value of its 5 percent stake in the financial group that was later carved up along national lines.
Shares of Ping An have lost 56 percent in the past three months, slightly outperforming a 60-percent loss in the index for mainland Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong .HSCE amid the global financial crisis. ($1=6.845 Yuan)
(Agencies)
