China Taiping Insurance Holdings

China Taiping Insurance Holdings Company Limited

Company type	Public
Industry	Insurance, Financial services
Predecessor	China Insurance International Holdings Company Limited
Founded	2000 (2000)
Headquarters	Hong Kong , China
Area served	Mainland China, Hong Kong
Products	Reinsurance, Life insurance, Property and casualty insurance, Asset management, Reinsurance brokerage, Pension fund management, Real estate administration
Owner	China Taiping Insurance Group Limited (59.64%)
Parent	China Taiping Insurance Group Limited

China Taiping Insurance Holdings Company Limited (CTIH), previously known as China Insurance International Holdings Company Limited (CIIH), is a Hong Kong-incorporated insurance conglomerate with significant ties to the Chinese Central Government. It is recognized as a red chip enterprise.

Businesses

The group’s primary operations encompass reinsurance, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, asset management, reinsurance brokerage, pension fund management, and real estate administration.

In the fiscal year 2018, life insurance was the leading profit contributor for the publicly traded company, generating HK$6.2 billion of the HK$8.8 billion total profit (both figures inclusive of minority interest). Mainland China accounted for over 93% of the revenue.

Based on assessments by S&P Global Ratings and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, Taiping General Insurance Co. Ltd. held a 2.0% share of the property and casualty insurance market in the first half of 2017, placing it eighth in ranking. Meanwhile, Taiping Life Insurance ranked ninth with a 3.8% market share measured by policies issued.

Within Hong Kong, China Taiping Insurance (HK) Company Limited secured fourth place in 2018 with a 6.0% gross written premium market share in general insurance.

Taiping Reinsurance, formerly known as China International Reinsurance and headquartered in Hong Kong, commanded a 17.0% stake in the reinsurance market as of 2005.

In January 2018, Taiping Trustees—a subsidiary under Taiping Financial Holdings—purchased an office property at 18 King Wah Road, North Point. By December 2018, the listed company had moved its headquarters to the 25th floor of this building, having previously been located in China Taiping Tower, Causeway Bay.

Taiping Financial Holdings, which was formerly China Insurance Group Securities Holdings and also incorporated in Hong Kong, owns Taiping Securities (HK). This securities brokerage and financial services provider was originally established in 1986 by the Bank of China Group under the name New Century Securities. It was renamed China Insurance Group Securities in 2001 before adopting its current designation in 2009.

Predecessors

Although formally incorporated in Hong Kong in 2000, the listed company’s roots extend back to Taiping Insurance Company, founded in Shanghai in 1929. Another antecedent is China Insurance Company, Limited, created by the Bank of China in 1931. Ming An Insurance Hong Kong, which was privatized by the listed company in 2009, originated as a Hong Kong-based insurer established in 1947.

Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, these firms were nationalized and merged into the People's Bank of China and the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC). Despite this transformation on the mainland, their operations in then British-ruled Hong Kong persisted. During the 1960s, China Insurance Company and Ming An Insurance maintained their Hong Kong headquarters within the Bank of China Building (Hong Kong), while Taiping Insurance operated from Takshing House. The trio of state-owned insurers jointly founded China Reinsurance Company (Hong Kong), Limited in 1980—a company that later became a fundamental asset for the listed entity incorporated two decades later.

In 1999, PICC underwent restructuring into several smaller groups including the listed company’s parent entity China Insurance Company, PICC itself, China Life, and China Re. These successors became prominent leaders across mainland China's general insurance, life insurance, and reinsurance sectors respectively. Through this reorganization, China Insurance Company shifted its focus toward international markets by acquiring overseas assets from PICC.

China Insurance International Holdings

China Insurance International Holdings Company Limited became publicly listed in 2000, coinciding with Swiss Re acquiring a 9.9% equity interest. During that year, the company’s revenue was largely generated through reinsurance activities. At the time, Ming An Insurance HK (now operating as Taiping Insurance HK) had not yet been integrated, and Taiping Insurance had not recommenced its operations within mainland China; it remained under the ownership of China Insurance Company, the parent entity of the listed firm.

In 2001, China Insurance Company obtained authorization to restart its insurance business in mainland China. Subsequently, in September of that year, the listed entity secured a controlling interest in Taiping Life—incorporated on the mainland—by purchasing shares from its parent for approximately HK$522 million through a combination of cash and newly issued stock. By 2004, the company held a 30% ownership stake in Taiping Insurance, a property and casualty insurer based in mainland China. As of 2018, the listed firm controlled 75.10% of Taiping Life and possessed full ownership (100%) of Taiping General Insurance.

From 2002 through 2013, the company increased its asset portfolio by acquiring assets from its parent as part of a reverse initial public offering (IPO) strategy. Notably, in 2002, it acquired China Insurance Group Assets Management Limited—later renamed Taiping Asset Management (HK) Co. Ltd. in 2009—for close to HK$403 million paid in cash and shares.

China Taiping Insurance Holdings

The company adopted its current name in 2009 and completed the privatization of fellow listed entity Ming An (Holdings) within the same year. Ming An Insurance (Hong Kong), previously owned by Ming An (Holdings), was rebranded as China Taiping Insurance (HK) Company Limited in November 2009.

In 2013, additional assets were acquired from the parent company for RMB 10.6 billion to finalize a reverse IPO transaction. These acquisitions encompassed Taiping Financial Holdings (formerly known as China Insurance Group Securities Holdings), subsidiaries including Taiping Securities (HK) Co. Ltd., as well as real estate assets such as the China Insurance Group Building.

Shareholders

The ultimate parent of the listed company is China Taiping Insurance Group Limited—formerly identified as China Insurance Company, Limited and China Insurance (Holdings) Company, Limited between 2002 and 2009. Originally a subsidiary under the People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (PICC Group), China Insurance Company assumed control over overseas operations following PICC’s restructuring mandated by the State Council in 1999, which separated it from the newly formed PICC Group.

As of December 31, 2018, China Taiping Insurance Group held a 59.64% stake in the listed company. The Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China owns 90% of China Taiping Insurance Group, with the remaining shares held by the National Social Security Fund since January 2019.