ONE-OFF GAIN BOOSTS MING AN EARNINGS

Hong Kong listed insurer Ming An Holdings has reported a first-half profit of HK$541m (US$69.3m), up from HK$191m for the same period last year. The figures were boosted by the sale of a 10.8% stake in Pacific Century Insurance to Dutch-Belgian financial services group Fortis, which netted a booked gain of $555m. Investment income also doubled to HK$84m. Underwriting profit was down to just HK$18m, while the company’s mainland operations, which account for just over a quarter of gross written premiums, posted an underwriting loss of HK$12m. CEO Peng Wei admitted that “investment returns will be the main driver of our profit in the next two to three years”.