Insurance capital has once again crossed the 5% shareholding threshold in a listed company. On April 2, Zhongshan Public Utility announced that its controlling shareholder, Zhongshan Investment Holding, signed a share transfer agreement with Lian Life Insurance on April 1. The agreement involves the transfer of 73.76 million shares, representing 5% of the total share capital, at a price of 12.19 yuan per share, with a total transaction value of approximately 899 million yuan. Following this change in equity interests, Zhongshan Investment Holding's stake will decrease to 43.73%, yet it will remain the controlling shareholder. Lian Life Insurance's shareholding will increase from 3.12% to 8.12%, making it a shareholder holding more than 5% of Zhongshan Public Utility. This transaction does not trigger a mandatory offer and will not result in a change of actual controller, but it still requires approval from state-owned assets regulators and review by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange before implementation.
Insurance funds continue to increase their allocation to equity markets this year. According to the announcement, Lian Life Insurance has committed not to减持 the transferred shares within 12 months after the completion of the share transfer registration. Furthermore, after the share transfer is completed, Lian Life Insurance intends to appoint one non-independent director to Zhongshan Public Utility's board. Lian Life Insurance stated it has no intention to further increase its stake in Zhongshan Public Utility within the next 12 months. In the six months preceding this transaction, Lian Life Insurance had traded Zhongshan Public Utility shares on multiple occasions.
Zhongshan Public Utility indicated that the successful completion of this equity change will promote adjustments to the company's shareholding structure and enhance its core competitiveness. It emphasized that the transaction does not constitute a mandatory offer or a connected transaction, nor will it significantly impact the listed company's ongoing operations.
The announcement also noted that while the share transfer agreement has been signed, it must be approved by state-owned assets supervision authorities to become effective. Subsequent approvals from relevant government departments are required, along with compliance review by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, before share transfer registration procedures can be finalized at the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited, Shenzhen Branch. Therefore, there remains uncertainty regarding the final completion of the transaction.
Previously, in July 2025, Lian Life Insurance crossed the 5% threshold in another water utility company, Jiangnan Water. Disclosures show that Lian Life Insurance currently holds a 5.41% stake in Jiangnan Water and also holds a 5.83% stake in Shenzhen International.
This marks the second instance of an insurance fund crossing the 5% threshold this year. Earlier this year, Shanghai Airport announced that it received notification from Pacific Asset Management Company Limited, an information disclosure obligor, regarding an equity change completed through block trades on January 9, 2026. Pacific Asset Management increased its holding by 72.424 million A-shares, raising its total shareholding from 51.9917 million shares to 124 million shares, and its ownership ratio from 2.09% to 5%. According to the simplified equity change report, shareholders involved in this stake increase included Pacific Asset Management and China Pacific Life Insurance Co., Ltd., both subsidiaries controlled by China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. Pacific Asset Management manages insurance funds entrusted by Pacific Life.
The funds for this share increase originated from insurance funds managed by Pacific Asset Management, specifically including Pacific Life's individual participating products, universal life insurance products, and traditional ordinary insurance products.
This was the first such acquisition by insurance capital since the beginning of the year. Market analysis suggests the core logic behind targeting Shanghai Airport lies in its alignment with the long-term allocation needs of insurance funds. On one hand, Shanghai Airport possesses regional monopoly advantages and an expanding traffic barrier, characterized by strong operational stability and ample cash flow, fitting insurance funds' preference for "bond-like" assets. On the other hand, with the回流 of international consumption, the value of the company's non-aeronautical business is becoming increasingly prominent, offering high certainty for long-term growth.
Although the frequency of such acquisitions this year is lower than last year's密集 pace, allocations to equity assets continue unabated. On March 30, the latest Hong Kong Exchange disclosure showed that China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. was增持 by PING AN Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. on March 25, involving 3.1044 million shares at an average price of HK$32.3919 per share, totaling approximately HK$101 million. After this increase, PING AN's holding of China Taiping H-shares reached 335.39 million shares, with its stake rising from 11.97% to 12.08%.
This represents at least the third time since last year that PING AN has increased its stake in China Taiping H-shares. The first time its holding reached the 5% disclosure threshold was in August 2025, when it purchased approximately 1.7414 million shares at an average price of about HK$32.07 per share. The second increase occurred in September 2025, with a cumulative purchase of 140 million shares, abruptly raising its ownership to 10%.
Regarding this "insurance buying insurance" phenomenon, Lu Haoyang, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of PING AN, provided his rationale: "From a long-term perspective, individual stocks in the insurance sector are still undervalued."
Lu Haoyang stated that, on one hand, the insurance industry still possesses strong growth potential, and the national strategy of building a financial powerhouse emphasizes quality and efficiency improvements within the financial sector, with insurance being one segment benefiting from favorable policies. On the other hand, changes in China's demographic structure, consumption habits, and investment观念 are also positive for the insurance industry.
Last year's highest investment return reached 6.6%. The 2025 annual reports of the five major A-share listed insurers—PING AN, China Life Insurance, People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd., China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd., and New China Life Insurance—have all been released. Combined, they achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 425.291 billion yuan, an increase of over 70 billion yuan compared to 2024, representing growth of 22.4%. Their total operating revenue reached nearly 2.93 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%.
Data shows that as of the end of 2025, the total investment assets of these five major listed insurers surpassed the 20 trillion yuan mark, reaching 20.65 trillion yuan. Specifically, China Life's investment assets totaled 7.42 trillion yuan, PING AN's insurance fund investment portfolio was 6.49 trillion yuan, while China Pacific Insurance, PICC, and New China Life Insurance reached 3.04 trillion yuan, 1.90 trillion yuan, and 1.84 trillion yuan, respectively.
The total investment return rates of several insurers hit their highest levels since 2015. The top three by total investment return rate were New China Life Insurance, PING AN, and China Life Insurance, all exceeding 6%. New China Life Insurance led with a total investment return rate of 6.6%, and China Life Insurance's rate rose to 6.09%, both marking the highest levels since 2015.
Xie Yonglin, President and Co-CEO of PING AN, expressed optimism about the long-term growth potential of the Chinese stock market. He stated that in 2026, the company will continue to adhere to a balanced allocation strategy, focusing equally on growth sectors represented by new quality productive forces and undervalued, high-dividend sectors. Building on the foundation of allocating to high-dividend sectors as a "ballast," the company will explore opportunities in hot sectors like technology, while also paying attention to investment opportunities in pro-cyclical and consumer industries.
According to incomplete statistics, insurance capital crossed the 5% threshold approximately 41 times in 2025, more than double the 20 times recorded in 2024. This figure is second only to the historical peak of 62 times in 2015, marking a decade high.
Regarding the motivations behind last year's surge in insurance capital acquisitions, mainstream market views primarily attribute it to the driving force of insurance capital's OCI investment strategy.
The OCI strategy refers to insurers classifying invested assets under the fair value through other comprehensive income category. The main objective is to obtain stable dividend income rather than focusing on short-term price differential gains, which implies a longer holding period for these assets.
Yang Fan, General Manager of Beijing Paipaiwang Insurance Agency Co., Ltd., believes that insurance capital's adherence to the OCI strategy is mainly based on three considerations. First, under new accounting standards, placing equity assets in the OCI account can reduce volatility in the income statement. Second, amid declining interest rates, high-dividend assets offer stable dividends that can compensate for insufficient bond coupon income. Third, under the guidance of assessment mechanisms, long-cycle evaluation systems require insurance funds to practice "long-term money for long-term investment."
A research report from Huachuang Securities suggests that the motivations for insurance capital acquisitions can be broadly divided into two categories. One is based on dividend yield considerations, favoring targets with relatively stable future dividend cash flow expectations—essentially seeking "bond-like" high-yield assets as a hedge against interest rate decline risks. The other is based on ROE considerations, favoring central state-owned enterprises, companies with certain monopolistic positions in their industries, and those with mature profit models, aiming to include high-quality targets through long-term equity investments. Looking ahead to 2026, it is anticipated that both types of motivations will remain relevant, and the trend of insurance capital acquisitions is likely to continue.
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