(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The world’s second-largest insurer by market value is struggling to reinvent itself as a unicorn hub. Wariness by public investors toward unprofitable companies spells bad news for Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., which has plenty of tech firms it wants to take public at some point.The latest casualty is OneConnect Financial Technology Co., a cloud-based back-end platform for banks and insurers. A planned initial public offering in the U.S. set for Thursday was cut by almost half to just $260 million from a target of $504 million. Ping An didn’t give an official reason. Valuations of the unprofitable fintech company will now fall to half of the $4.4 billion to $5.2 billion range floated when investors were sounded out last week.That’s a blow to Ping An’s “technology-plus-finance” ambitions. Will the insurer lick its wounds or plow ahead? It can have a word with Masayoshi Son, still smarting from the WeWork debacle. His SoftBank Vision Fund bought into OneConnect last year at a valuation of $7.5 billion. All this is a shame, because OneConnect is perhaps the Shenzhen-based company’s strongest spinoff, providing a needed service to financial institutions struggling with legacy computer systems. It operates in a less-competitive space than Ping An’s consumer-focused apps.Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co., the online platform better known as Good Doctor, is a medical portal that competes with Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeDoctor. Its Hong Kong post-listing performance has been weak. After languishing for much of the year under its IPO price, the stock has only recently been in the black.Then there’s Lufax, which is more than 40% owned by Ping An and is also struggling. The world’s most valuable financial technology startup just three years ago, Lufax was caught up in Beijing’s clampdown on peer-to-peer lenders and is now reshaping itself as a consumer-finance company. It’s safe to say it won’t be listing anytime soon.Even China’s hottest companies have struggled to raise capital. OneConnect’s travails don’t bode well for another of Ping An’s B2B firms, HealthKonnect. The cloud platform for the healthcare sector was valued at $8.8 billion after a fundraising early last year. Now, the unprofitable startup will have to push any potential IPO plans further down the road. Ping An’s tech ambitions have allowed it to trade at 2.35 times book value versus 1.44 times for rival China Life Insurance Co., though the state firm has outperformed it in the past 12 months. Ping An trails only Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in market value as an insurer globally, but it’s a lot more expensive than Warren Buffett’s firm, which trades at 1.4 times book.The 31-year-old company set up OneConnect only in 2015, and perhaps one day it will be more a tech giant than an insurer. But fintech and “healthtech” made up just 4.1% of third-quarter revenue. Investors should remember that. To contact the author of this story: Nisha Gopalan at ngopalan3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McDowell at pmcdowell10@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Nisha Gopalan is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and banking. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones as an editor and a reporter.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
The financial regulations require hedge funds and wealthy investors that exceeded the $100 million equity holdings threshold to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn't the intention, these filings to a certain extent level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F […]
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China Life Insurance Company Limited (SSE: 601628, SEHK: 2628, NYSE: LFC) announces the audited consolidated results of the Company (China Life Insurance Company Limited and its subsidiaries) for the year ended 31 December 2019 (the "Reporting Period") prepared under the International Financial Reporting Standards today.
China Life Insurance Company Limited (the "Company") (NYSE: LFC; HKSE: 2628; SSE: 601628), announced that the Company has filed its 2019 Annual Report on Form 20-F (the "2019 Form 20-F"), which includes its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
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The board of directors ("Board") of China Life Insurance Company Limited (the "Company" or "China Life") (NYSE: LFC; SSE: 601628; HKSE: 2628) announced today that due to the adjustment of work arrangements, Mr. Zhao Peng tendered his resignation as an Executive Director of the Company, a member of the Strategy and Assets and Liabilities Management Committee and the person in charge of finance of the Company on 23 April 2020. The resignation took effect on the same day. Mr. Zhao Peng has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the Board and there are no other matters relating to his resignation that need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company. The Company would like to express its gratitude to Mr. Zhao Peng for his contribution to the Company during his tenure of service.
Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks...
When it comes to diversified tech giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), being an investor comes with its share of harassment. Nevertheless, it's time to watch for a capitalist opportunity now that a key battle line has been crossed.Source: zhu difeng / Shutterstock.com For U.S. investors, profiting in Chinese stocks has been more challenging these days. Many large-cap stocks and industry leaders in China ranging from Tencent (OTCMKTS:TCEHY), to China Mobile (NYSE:CHL), China Life Insurance Company (NYSE:LFC) or China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (NYSE:SNP) have produced lackluster or negative returns in their U.S.-listed American Depository Receipts. And certainly the trade war has been a drag on stock performance.But Alibaba stock has been different. That's not to say it's been easy. Still, the fact is BABA has gained about 23% in 2019. The return is more than the S&P 500's climb of 18% and towers above U.S. tech giant Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) 13% year-to-date increase.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Why is Alibaba Stock Different?So, what is the deal with shares of BABA? Alibaba stock has and continues to defeat investors' fears within this macro-charged environment. Most recently BABA stock toppled Street profit and sales forecasts in mid-August. * 7 Beverage Stocks to Buy Now To be certain, there's always going to be something or someone trying to get investors to back away from buying Alibaba despite its successes. For some that might include recent reports the U.S. is considering delisting Chinese stocks. And that threat can't be entirely ignored. Or maybe fake merchandise sales in the past or allegations of accounting shenanigans have prevented investors from taking action in BABA stock?Okay, so there's plenty of reasons not to buy BABA shares. But obviously those arguments don't include price performance. Most important, Alibaba stock continues to come out on top despite headline warnings and a challenging market for Chinese stocks. Now and with BABA crossing an important battle line on the price chart, it's time to put shares on the radar for a well-timed purchase. BABA Stock Weekly ChartAs noted above, capturing BABA stock's gains of around 23% hasn't been a walk in the park. And as expressed, bad press isn't likely to just disappear. The better news is I also don't believe Alibaba's impressive rally is finished. I see a solid entry for a risk-adjusted purchase of BABA stock.The weekly chart shows that since failing from a breakout attempt to new highs last year, Alibaba stock has established a corrective symmetrical triangle base. It's not perfectly formed with clear-cut pivots to define the pattern, but the essence of this bullish formation is there.Following last week's price action, shares of Alibaba are in position to confirm a bullish engulfing candlestick which puts BABA stock back above the 50% retracement level of the base, as well as the triangle's apex line. With stochastics in a pullback set-up in neutral territory and on the verge of signaling a bullish crossover, the situation looks all the more promising. How to Trade AlibabaI'd recommend buying Alibaba shares above $174.88. This entry waits for the BABA stock price to confirm last week's candlestick and reinforces the bias for continued upside in the bullish triangle pattern. If BABA rallies, a breakout through angular resistance near $185 might be watched for adding shares on strength and before looking to take partial profits in-between $195-$215.For containing downside exposure in Alibaba stock, I'd keep an eye on the weekly stochastics to continue to support the position and set a modified stop-loss beneath $165 for a stronger risk-adjusted exit that offers sufficient evidence off and on the price chart for closing the trade.Investment accounts under Christopher Tyler's management do not currently own positions in any securities mentioned in this article. The information offered is based upon Christopher Tyler's observations and strictly intended for educational purposes only; the use of which is the responsibility of the individual. . For additional market insights and related musings, follow Chris on Twitter @Options_CAT and StockTwits. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Beverage Stocks to Buy Now * 10 Groundbreaking Technologies Created by Universities * 5 Semiconductor Stocks Worth Your Time The post Alibaba Stock is a Strong Buy Now -- More Than Ever Before appeared first on InvestorPlace.
Today we'll take a closer look at China Life Insurance Company Limited (HKG:2628) from a dividend investor's...
China Life Insurance, the nation's second-largest insurer, posted an almost threefold increase in profit for the first nine months, as a run-up in stocks bolstered investment gains and premium incomes rose.Net income for the first three quarters jumped 190 per cent from a year ago to 57.7 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) based on the Chinese accounting standard, the insurer said in an exchange statement. The value of new business, a gauge of future profitability, grew by 20 per cent in the period, it said. China Life did not provide data for the third quarter alone in the report.A turnaround on China's Shanghai Composite Index significantly boosted profits of insurance companies, which are allowed to invest as much as 30 per cent of their assets in equities. The benchmark has risen 18 per cent so far this year, reversing an annual loss of 25 per cent in 2018, as policymakers loosen policies to offset the fallout of the China-US trade war and foreign inflows accelerate.China Life's investment yield was 5.72 per cent in the nine-month period, an increase of 2.31 percentage points from a year earlier, it said in the quarterly report. Premium incomes increased 6.1 per cent from a year ago to 497 billion yuan and the number of sales people rose by 10 per cent, to 1.95 million, it said. China Life looks to new technology to boost insurance sales as interim profit misses forecastsShares of China Life have surged 51 per cent this year in Shanghai and its Hong Kong-traded stock has risen 19 per cent.In July, China eased rules for foreign insurance companies looking to enter the country.China's insurance market is dominated by domestic players despite years of reforms. Foreign insurers have an 8.1 per cent share, a level that would suggest mainland consumers have yet to reap benefits that come with greater market competition, according to Moody's Investors Service.This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2019 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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