China Ping An, one of the leading insurers in China, collected 83.2 billion yuan (11.2 billion U.S. dollars) in premiums in the first 10 months of this year, the company said on Tuesday.

The announcement did not provide year-earlier figures.

Total premiums included 65.2 billion yuan for life insurance, which is the core business for the Shanghai-listed group company. Earlier reports said its life insurance premiums increased 17.2 percent from 2005 to 69 billion yuan for 2006, which represented 17 percent of the country's total.

According to the announcement, Ping An's property insurance premiums stood at 17.9 billion yuan in the Jan.-Oct. period, premiums for health insurance at 1.48 million yuan, and those for endowment insurance at 55.47 million yuan.

The group company realized 12.1 billion yuan in net profits in the first three quarters of this year, with earnings per share at 1.65 yuan.

China Ping An recently won approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to invest in the Hong Kong stock market.

It is permitted to use up to 5 percent of its total assets at the previous end of the year to buy foreign currencies to invest in the Hong Kong stock market.

It has been advised to invest mainly in H shares and red chips.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2007)