(Yicai) Oct. 11 -- Chinese insurer New China Life Insurance has appointed the former general manager of leading broker Shenwan Hongyuan Group as its new chairman.

Yang Yucheng will replace Li Quan who has reached retirement age, the Beijing-based insurer said yesterday. Yang already took up the position of Party Committee Secretary at New China Life in late August, when 60-year-old Li stepped down from all his posts.

Yang worked at Urumqi, northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region-based Shenwan Hongyuan for 15 years, rising to the ranks of executive director and GM in May 2019.

Big efforts are needed to propel professionalization and market-oriented reforms at New China Life, 52-year-old Yang said on Aug. 25. This includes building a talented team, enhancing the management of assets and liabilities and setting up a market-oriented stimulus and restraint system.

New China Life, which is backed by state-owned Central Huijin Investment, logged a 8.6 percent jump in net profit in the first half from the same period last year to CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion), while revenue tumbled 4.7 percent to CNY48.9 billion, according to its latest earnings report.

Editor: Kim Taylor