[ET Net News Agency, 20 July 2020] Credit Suisse lifted its target price for China Life
(02628) to HK$30 from HK$29 and maintained its "outperform" rating.
The research house said China Life's total premium growth of 13% in 1H. While this
implies a deceleration of monthly momentum, the growth of agency FYP (first year premium),
remains in positive territory.
Credit Suisse estimated sector-leading VNB (value of new business) growth of 6.5% in 1H.
The slight moderation in 2Q (+8% in 1Q) should not be a surprise, as agency efficiency has
not fully recovered and cases of COVID-19 have re-emerged in certain regions (i.e.,
Beijing, Jilin).
Credit Suisse revised up its FY2020-22 EPS forecasts by 1-3% to reflect solid A-share
performance second-half-to-date. (KL)