People's Insurance Company of China Zhao Peng Responds to Dividend Concerns: A Detailed Explanation of the Three Major Factors in Dividend Policy

On March 27, financial frontline news reported that China Life Insurance held its 2025 annual performance briefing today. When discussing the dividend payout ratio and dividend yield, Zhao Peng, Vice Chairman and President of China Life Group, stated that the company has always placed a high value on shareholder returns and maintains the continuity and stability of cash dividends. For 2025, the group will pay a dividend of 0.22 yuan per share for the whole year, a year-on-year increase of 22.2%; the property and casualty insurance will pay a dividend of 0.68 yuan per share for the whole year, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%. From 2023 to 2025, the compound annual growth rate of cash dividends for the group and property and casualty insurance reached 18.8% and 17.9%, respectively.

Zhao Peng pointed out that the company’s dividend policy primarily considers the following three factors:

First, comprehensive consideration of the differences between the old and new standards. Currently, regulatory agencies and higher authorities are still managing and assessing according to the old standards. The dividends for 2025 continue to be based on the old standards, with the group’s dividend payout ratio maintained at over 30% and property and casualty insurance at over 40%.

Second, full consideration of capital constraints. Since the implementation of the new standards, the net profit fluctuations of listed insurance institutions have increased, becoming a common operational characteristic across the industry. The group’s dividend funds mainly come from the profit distribution of its subsidiaries. Currently, there is a significant profit disparity between insurance subsidiaries under the old and new standards. If dividends are simply based on the net profit criteria under the new standards, it will directly affect the core capital strength and solvency adequacy of the insurance subsidiaries, ultimately impacting the long-term stability and sustainability of the dividend policy. Therefore, the company must fully consider capital constraints.

Third, striving to achieve long-term stable growth in dividends per share is a goal the company has always pursued. The company will focus on its core insurance business, continuously improve quality and efficiency, strengthen payment management, enhance performance assessment, and make concerted efforts on both the liability and investment sides to achieve sustained and stable profit growth, thereby rewarding the trust and support of a wide range of investors.

Massive information and precise interpretation can be found on the Sina Finance APP.

Editor: Zhang Wen