[ET Net News Agency, 29 August 2019] Daiwa Research lowered its target price for China
Taiping Insurance Holdings (00966) to HK$26 from HK$28 and maintained its "buy" rating.
The research house said Taiping's Life VNB decline was a result of the weak agent
headcount trend and change in product mix in 1H.
Management said that both the number of agent leaders and the number of agents with FYRP
(First-year Regular Premiums) contribution of CNY100k and above recorded HoH rises.
Management expects the agent retention rate to stabilise in 2H as most of the unproductive
agents have already left.
Daiwa lowered its 2019 VNB growth to 4% due to its soft 1H results. It raised its 2019
EPS forecast by 2% to reflect a one-off tax credit, offset by the interest rate outlook
and CNY depreciation. It also revised down its 2020-21 EPS forecasts by 3-7%. (KL)