The recent personnel changes at Junlong Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Junlong Life"), a cross-strait joint venture insurer, have attracted industry attention, with the former general manager being reassigned to deputy and a new general manager being "parachuted" in.
According to personnel change information, Xu Taihong, former general manager of Junlong Life, has been dismissed from his position and reassigned as deputy general manager, responsible for the company's product strategic planning, product market research and development, and product actuarial system construction.
Taking the helm is Liao Minghong, who possesses extensive insurance experience across both sides of the Taiwan Strait. He has been appointed as Junlong Life's interim head and chief investment officer, fully responsible for the company's daily operational management and strategic planning and goal achievement.
What prompted this change? "This management adjustment is a strategic deployment by both shareholders based on the company's long-term development. Junlong is currently at a critical juncture of 'value transformation and growth,' requiring further strengthening of cross-strait resource integration, business development, risk management, and nationwide expansion capabilities," a relevant official from Junlong Life responded in an interview.
The official added, "The management changes will not impact Junlong Life's corporate governance structure and strategic stability. The company's current strategic planning and operational plans are all formulated based on long-term development logic and shareholder consensus, forming a clear execution framework after board approval, and will not undergo directional changes due to management adjustments."
It is understood that Xu Taihong joined Junlong Life from its inception and is a "founding" figure of the company, having served in multiple management positions including general manager, chief actuary, financial officer, and chief risk officer.
The newly "parachuted" Liao Minghong has over thirty years of insurance career experience, covering Taiwan's mature market, Southeast Asia's emerging markets, and mainland China's transformation market. He previously served as a senior executive at Taiwan Life and Cathay Life Taiwan, and served as general manager of Lujiazui Cathay Life from 2014 to 2021. Lujiazui Cathay Life shares a similar cross-strait joint venture background with Junlong Life.
Industry observers believe that having long-term management experience with cross-strait joint venture insurers, familiarity with Taiwan shareholder styles, and the ability to better promote cross-strait financial resource integration and business mutual learning are important reasons why Junlong Life selected Liao Minghong to lead the company.
Notably, Junlong Life has experienced "three general managers in three years." In August 2022, Lin Xuanqi stepped down as general manager of Junlong Life. Cai Songqing served as interim head and was formally appointed general manager in March 2023, but left the position just two months later. Subsequently, Xu Taihong was appointed as interim head and formally assumed the general manager position in February 2024, serving only over a year before another adjustment. Such frequent changes in core senior management inevitably impact the company's strategic and operational stability.
From a performance perspective, since its establishment, Junlong Life experienced prolonged losses, turning profitable in 2020 with a modest profit of 0.08 billion yuan, followed by a net profit of 0.31 billion yuan the next year, before returning to losses with net losses of 1.75 billion yuan and 1.73 billion yuan in 2022 and 2023, respectively. In 2024, the company achieved a net profit of 0.46 billion yuan.
According to the second-quarter solvency report, in the first half of this year, Junlong Life achieved insurance business revenue of 9.04 billion yuan, net profit of 2.27 billion yuan, and an investment return rate of 4.67%, performing relatively well among peers.
Regarding future investment strategies, the company stated it would continue to allocate low-risk duration products such as long-term government bonds and high-credit-grade corporate bonds, while also relying on solid fundamental research and long-term investment capabilities to precisely position in primary and secondary markets (including some convertible bonds) and REITs and other higher-yielding, risk-controllable assets to ensure interest spread requirements in a low interest rate environment.
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