Ping An Insurance, China's largest insurer, reported a 1.2% dip in first-half net profit to CNY69.8bn (USD9.63bn), attributed to market volatility. Although the interim dividend increased by 1.1% to CNY0.93 and the value of new business jumped 32.6% to CNY26bn, the operating profit fell 5% to CNY82bn, and the life and health insurance business declined 1.7% to CNY58.6bn. However, property and casualty insurance net profit rose by 7.4% to CNY9.3bn, and the banking business net profit increased by 14.9% to CNY25.4bn. Despite the growth in some areas, the asset management and tech businesses saw significant declines in operating profit, 62.3% and 57.6% respectively.