China Life's Hou Jin: Effective upgrade of the company's asset-liability linkage model, further strengthening value leadership

Beijing Business Daily (Reporter Hu Yongxin) reported that on March 26, China Life Insurance Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as “China Life”) held simultaneous annual performance releases in Beijing and Hong Kong for the year 2025. During the event, China Life’s Assistant President and Chief Actuary Hou Jin introduced the company’s embedded value and solvency status for 2025.

“Through deepening product offerings, promoting diversified business development, optimizing investment management and layout, and strengthening refined management, the asset-liability linkage model has been effectively upgraded, and value leadership has been further reinforced,” Hou Jin stated.

In 2025, China Life’s annual new business value reached 45.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 35.7%, achieving rapid growth on a high base. Among them, the individual insurance channel’s new business value was 39.3 billion yuan, up 25.5%, maintaining steady progress amid transformation. The bancassurance and other channels’ new business value was 6.45 billion yuan, an increase of 169.3%, effectively supporting overall growth.

According to Hou Jin, in 2025, China Life achieved upgrades in asset-liability linkage, mainly reflected in four aspects: First, simultaneously promoting the transformation of floating yield-type businesses, increasing equity investments, and strengthening detailed account management; second, considering scientific management of liability duration and flexible regulation of asset duration, with an effective duration gap of less than 1.5 years; third, actively responding to market interest rate changes, dynamically adjusting product guaranteed interest rates, and coordinating the timing and selection of high-quality fixed income assets, resulting in a reduction of new business liability guarantee cost rate by over 60 basis points; fourth, creating and realizing value more steadily, with stronger and more resilient endogenous capital creation ability.

In 2025, by optimizing investment management and strengthening operational management simultaneously, China Life’s embedded value investment return differences and operational experience differences were both positive, and solvency continued to remain at a sufficient level.