Both companies also said their joint-stock restructurings and preparations for public listings were proceeding smoothly, but did not elaborate.

Premiums at the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC), the country's largest non-life insurer, rose by 2.8 per cent in the first half of 2003 on a year-on-year basis to 33.4 billion (US$4 billion).

"The business growth was basically in line with our plans and the overall situation was healthy,'' PICC General Manager Tang Yunxiang said in his report to a national conference organized by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

But compensations rose, bringing the company's profits down by 4.41 per cent from a year earlier. Reasons for the escalation of pay-outs include rising sales, the occurrence of two major accidents and a new regulation in Beijing that resulted in a rapid hike in auto insurance claims, Tang said.

Wang Xianzhang, Tang's counterpart at China Life Insurance Company -- the nation's largest life insurer -- said premiums jumped by 26.29 per cent in the first six months to 92.6 billion yuan (US$11.1 billion).

The growth slowed slightly in April and May when the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic disrupted over-the-counter sales, but picked up in June as the number of new infection cases fell sharply.

Wang attributed the resilience to his firm's more efficient management and greater transparency, which helped keep its staff working diligently amid fears over the potentially fatal virus.

(China Daily July 8, 2003)