A Chinese insurance company''s increase

The China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., the country''s third-largest life insurer, said Monday that its net profits jumped 44.7 % year-on-year to 5.82 billion yuan (911.04 million U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year. The company''s income from insurance sales rose 14.2% to 86.88 billion yuan, accounting for 10.8 % of the total market share, up from 9.9% at the end of last year, the insurer said in a half-year report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to China''s News Agency (Xinhua). The insurer attributed the higher profits to increased profitability in both its property and life insurance divisions, the report said. Net profits from the company''s property insurance division surged 54 % to 2.34 billion yuan during the period, while its life insurance division saw a 28.5% rise in net profits of 2.79 billion yuan, the report said. The company''s total investment assets totaled 490.51 billion yuan as of the end of June, up 12.6% from the end of last year. The company''s investment return rate stood at 4.4 % over the past six months, the report added. The company said in its report that it expects costs to go up over the second half of the year due to global economic conditions affecting China''s growth. The company''s earnings per share were up 44.7% year on year to 0.68 yuan, while its total assets stood at 537.22 billion yuan, up 12.9% from the end of last year, the report said.