On 30 August, China Re held 2024 Interim Results Announcement in Beijing, at which the management team, led by Mr. Zhuang Qianzhi, the President of the Company, gave a briefing on the Company's 2024 interim operating results, achievements of strategic implementation, and operational plans for the second half of the year. The announcement, held in a combination of teleconferencing and live video streaming, has further enhanced the understanding of the China Re's medium- and long-term investment value in the capital market through in-depth communication and interaction with investors, analysts and journalists.
In the first half of 2024, in the face of the complex business situation and arduous reform and development tasks, China Re has anchored its strategic goal of "building a world-class comprehensive reinsurance group", adhered to the general tone of "seeking progress amidst stability, enhancing value" and implemented the business philosophy of "expanding business scale, increasing underwriting profits and making prudent investment", taking solid steps towards high-quality development.
Comprehensive Improvement in Operating Results
In the first half of 2024, China Re recorded consolidated insurance revenue of RMB51,784 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.8%; net profit attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company of RMB5,727 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 184.6%; annualised ROE of 11.85%, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.39 percentage points; total assets of RMB474,465 million, representing an increase of 3.2% as compared with the end of last year; and total equity of RMB107,493 million, representing an increase of 5.2% as compared with the end of last year.
China Re continued to optimise its profit structure and underwriting profit hit a new high. The Group's consolidated underwriting profit maintained growth momentum on the basis of reaching a record high last year, with a year-on-year increase of over 30% and each insurance business segment achieving underwriting profitability. In particular, combined ratio of domestic P&C reinsurance business was 99.64%, and combined ratio of overseas P&C reinsurance business was 89.09%, both maintaining stable as compared with the corresponding period last year; combined ratio of L&H reinsurance protection-type business was 96.60%, representing a year-on-year decrease of 0.75 percentage points; and combined ratio of primary P&C insurance business was 99.86%, representing a year-on-year decrease of 1.00 percentage point. China Re adhered to a robust and prudent investment philosophy, and investment income achieved significant growth. The Group's total investment income amounted to RMB9,647 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 72.6%, and annualised total investment yield was 4.66%, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.11%. The comprehensive investment yield of its domestic shares exceeded the benchmark of the CSI 300 Index by more than 1,600 basis points, and the comprehensive investment yield of its overseas shares exceeded the benchmark of the Hang Seng Index by more than 800 basis points, demonstrating significant excess returns. China Re safeguarded the bottom line and strengthened lines of defense, and maintained robust risk management. The aggregated solvency of all operating entities was adequate, with 249% for China Re P&C, 212% for China Re Life, 280% for China Continent Insurance, and 194% for the Group on a consolidated basis. The Group continuously maintained an "A" rating from S&P Global Ratings and an "A (Excellent)" rating from A.M. Best with stable ratings outlook.
Enhancement in Quality and Efficiency in Serving National Strategy
China Re focused on its main responsibilities and businesses, took the initiative in incorporating itself into the national development, giving full play to its roles as an economic shock absorber and a social stabiliser. In the first half of 2024, the sum insured by the Group for risks in the key national strategic areas amounted to RMB140.5 trillion. It assisted the Healthy China strategy to serve 200 million people, and served 4,543 thousand micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
China Re took its leading role in the industry to make full efforts in the "five key areas" (namely science & technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, elder-caring finance, and digital finance) of financial services. It released the first demonstration clauses for third-party liability insurance of unmanned aerial vehicles in China; participated in the establishment of the China Green Ship Insurance Pool, and the China Nuclear Insurance Pool, which China Re chaired, insured the second largest number of nuclear power units in the world; tailored a series of inclusive products specifically for small, medium, and micro enterprises, such as comprehensive protection for flexible employment scenarios and exclusive occupational accident liability insurance; introduced innovative products such as income loss insurance for the disabled and accident insurance for the elderly to promote the upgrading of health risk protection; and developed the "Zai • Tu (再·途)" new energy vehicle insurance pricing and risk control model, and upgraded the "Zai • Yun (再·耘)" comprehensive agricultural insurance technology platform.
China Re proactively aligned itself with the national strategy for addressing climate change. It established a working mechanism to address climate change, studied and formulated an action plan and roadmap for addressing climate change; signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the China Meteorological Administration to jointly innovate a new model of "meteorology + insurance" to address climate change and explore new roles for insurance in the risk diversification and transfer of meteorological disasters; and undertook the task of stress testing the physical risks of climate change for the People's Bank of China, exploring ways to manage and control climate risks.
China Re has been fully committed to serving the national catastrophe insurance protection system and building the reinsurance market. It independently developed catastrophe models for earthquakes, typhoons and floods in China, with most indicators outperforming similar foreign products. It deeply participated in the catastrophe insurance pilot projects in 19 provinces and cities in China, and served as the lead reinsurer in over 80% of these projects. It successfully implemented the first comprehensive catastrophe insurance policy in China, covering all types of catastrophes, with broad coverage and a long duration, and served as the lead reinsurer, which is a typical example of promoting the development of catastrophe insurance business. It also facilitated the official opening of the Shanghai Reinsurance Operation Center of China Continent Insurance and successfully commenced its first transaction, fully supporting the development of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Exchange.
Continuous Consolidation in Core Competitiveness
China Re improved its business innovation management mechanism. It optimized the responsibilities and positioning of its Strategic Customer Department to improve its collaborative innovation capabilities in serving customers, and formulated review methods for upgrading important innovative businesses to improve its management capabilities in dealing with innovation risks. China Re also strengthened its risk portfolio management capabilities by iteratively upgrading China Re Catastrophe Risk Management System (CREST) platform, expanding its catastrophe risk measurement and pricing capabilities from reinsurance business to primary insurance business, and promoting full coverage of both domestic and overseas businesses. In addition, China Re accelerated its digital transformation by formulating a three-year data management plan to enhance the Group's data management capabilities, and expedited the construction of key projects for the data mid-office and business platform to continuously improve its business decision-making capabilities underpinned by data.
China Re continued to strengthen its global management by enhancing the comprehensive supervision and management of major issues in overseas institutions; improving the management system of overseas institutions, strengthening overseas risk monitoring, and continuously optimizing the control system of overseas institutions; convening strategic seminars for overseas institutions, increasing training and exchanges between domestic and overseas personnel, and strengthening business cooperation between domestic and overseas operations. The quality of overseas business operations continued to improve. In the first half of 2024, the overseas business of the Group contributed to 18.4% of the total premiums, and all overseas business platforms in the P&C reinsurance segment achieved underwriting profits. Since the merger and acquisition of Chaucer, Chaucer has doubled its premiums and profit.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, in the face of the new situation and new changes, China Re will continuously adhere to the business philosophy of "expanding business scale, increasing underwriting profits and making prudent investment", make every effort to achieve the annual business objectives, enhance the quality and efficiency in serving national strategies on all fronts, focus on strategic guidance and reform and innovation in full swing, and improve risk control and compliance level across the board, striving to create sustainable and stable investment returns for its shareholders.