China Life Insurance Company (China Life) announced today that it will issue 38 billion yuan ($6 billion) of subordinated debt throughout the year.
The world’s largest life insurer by market value posted its most egregious quarterly profit dip on March 26. China Life reported that fourth-quarter net profit plunged 82 percent to 1.6 billion yuan when compared with the same period last year. The company was racked by a concoction of lower than expected investment returns coupled with slower growth and economic and market uncertainty.
Pending an approval by shareholders, the issuance would add 50 percentage points to China Life’s solvency margin.