CHINA LIFE AND PING AN SHARES SURGE ON BOND SALE REPORTS

Shares in China Life and Ping An, the two largest assurers in China, rose sharply yesterday on belief that their purchase of a 1.55tn yuan ($204bn) will boost investment returns. China Life’s stock rose 5.4% to 44.12 yuan, while Ping An shares were up 3.5% to 75.35 yuan, both being the ‘A’-listed shares in Shanghai. The Hong Kong-listed ‘H’ shares were up by similar amounts. The bonds were bought by the asset management companies of the two groups. The Ministry of Finance has said that it plans to issue the special bonds to an intermediary financial institution before passing them on to the central bank through an asset swap.