SHANGHAI — China’s banking and insurance sector regulator is probing Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd.’s investments in the property market, two people with knowledge of the matter said, after the firm took a big profit hit from a soured bet.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has also ordered the insurer to stop selling alternative investment products, which are typically tied to the property market, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is not public.
Ping An Insurance Profit Falls on Land Developer Investments
Ping An in a statement said its real estate exposure was significantly lower than the regulatory cap. It did not respond to queries on the regulatory probe. The CBIRC did not respond to a request for comment.
The regulatory move comes after Ping An, the country’s biggest insurer by assets, in February disclosed a 54 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) exposure to the indebted China Fortune Land Development Co Ltd.
Ping An made adjustments to its earnings figures including booking impairment provisions of 35.9 billion yuan for investments related to China Fortune in the first half of 2021, which contributed to a 15.5% fall in its net profit in the January to June period.
China Fortune, a developer of industrial parks and urban real estate, said it had overdue debt and interest worth 69.2 billion yuan as of June-end, and that default and liquidity stress could impact its operations and financing.
The regulatory probe into Ping An’s property portfolio also comes against the backdrop of Beijing sharpening its scrutiny of the country’s red-hot real estate market by tackling unbridled borrowing that has fueled concern about financial risk.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has also ordered the insurer to stop selling alternative investment products, which are typically tied to the property market, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is not public.
Ping An Insurance Profit Falls on Land Developer Investments
Ping An in a statement said its real estate exposure was significantly lower than the regulatory cap. It did not respond to queries on the regulatory probe. The CBIRC did not respond to a request for comment.
The regulatory move comes after Ping An, the country’s biggest insurer by assets, in February disclosed a 54 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) exposure to the indebted China Fortune Land Development Co Ltd.
Ping An made adjustments to its earnings figures including booking impairment provisions of 35.9 billion yuan for investments related to China Fortune in the first half of 2021, which contributed to a 15.5% fall in its net profit in the January to June period.
China Fortune, a developer of industrial parks and urban real estate, said it had overdue debt and interest worth 69.2 billion yuan as of June-end, and that default and liquidity stress could impact its operations and financing.
The regulatory probe into Ping An’s property portfolio also comes against the backdrop of Beijing sharpening its scrutiny of the country’s red-hot real estate market by tackling unbridled borrowing that has fueled concern about financial risk.
Text zur Anzeige gekürzt. Gesamten Beitrag anzeigen »