(Yicai Global) April 27 -- Shares of Ping An Insurance Group soared after China’s biggest insurer by market capitalization reported a 49 percent jump in first-quarter profit from a year ago because of gains in revenue and investment income.

Ping An Insurance [SHA: 601318] sprung by the daily trading limit of 10 percent to close at CNY50.37 (USD7.28) in Shanghai today, while its Hong Kong-listed stock [HKG: 2318] ended 9 percent up at HKD56.20 (USD7.16).

Net profit came in at CNY38.4 billion (USD5.6 billion) in the three months ended March 31, the Shenzhen-based firm’s quarterly trading report showed late yesterday.

Revenue climbed 31 percent to CNY253.8 billion (USD36.7 billion), and income from investments was CNY29.7 billion, versus a CNY26.1 billion loss a year earlier. The insurer had total assets of more than CNY11 trillion (USD1.59 trillion) in the period.

“In the first three months of 2023, the domestic economy continued to recover, with household consumption picking up steadily,” Ping An Insurance said, adding that “global capital markets remained volatile in a complex international environment.”

In a separate announcement yesterday, the insurer also said Yao Bo, one of its three co-chief executives, had resigned from all his administrative positions at the company because of personal and family reasons. Yao, 52, retains his non-executive directorship.

“Yao will remain a member of the board of directors and continue to play an important role in Ping An Insurance’s growth,” the firm told Yicai Global. His resignation will not influence the long-term stability of the company’s operation and management, it added.

After graduating with a Masters in Business Administration from New York University, Yao worked for global accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. He joined Ping An Insurance in 2001 and served as its chief financial officer for 12 years. He was promoted to co-CEO in July 2020.

Ping An Insurance announced last October that Yao had stepped down as chief financial officer, and that Zhang Zhichun had replaced him. Since then, Zhang and Chief Operating Officer Fu Xin had taken over Yao’s duties overseeing planning, financial and actuarial affairs, and funds, the firm told Yicai Global.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione