Ping An denies reports it will take over beleaguered Country Garden and assume developer’s mountain of debts

Its total liabilities stood at 1.3 trillion yuan versus 1.43 trillion yuan at the end of 2022.

“(Ping An) has never received any relevant proposals or requests from any relevant governmental authorities/agencies, and the company has no transaction plan [regarding Country Garden] or discussion in connection therewith,” the statement said. “As of today, the company (Ping An) does not hold any shares of Country Garden Holdings.”

The insurer’s shares closed 5.4 per cent lower at HK$38.50 (US$4.92) each in Hong Kong, while Country Garden’s rose by 12.16 per cent to HK$0.83 apiece on Wednesday.

In the first six months of the year, Ping An reported a 1.2 per cent decline in net profit to 69.84 billion yuan. In the last two years, Ping An has raised its investments in rental income property while cutting its exposure to developers.

Of the insurer’s 4.37 trillion yuan investment portfolio at the end of last year, real estate accounted for 4.7 per cent, with 60 per cent invested in physical buildings, an increase of 10 percentage points from two years ago. The rest was in equities or bonds issued by developers or other property assets.