HK Stock Market Move | Insurance stocks rise in the afternoon, with strong car sales driving an increase in car insurance. Institutions believe that car insurance premiums are expected to further open up incremental space for growth.

In the afternoon, the shares of Chinese insurance companies rose. As of the time of writing, China Pacific Insurance (02601) rose by 3.38% to 24.45 Hong Kong dollars; CHINA TAIPING (00966) rose by 2.06% to 11.9 Hong Kong dollars; New China Life Insurance (01336) rose by 1.28% to 23.8 Hong Kong dollars; China Life Insurance (02628) rose by 1.24% to 14.74 Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, recently, the premium data for the first 11 months of the year for the five major insurance companies listed in A shares has been disclosed. The five listed insurance companies in A shares collectively achieved a net premium income of 2.67 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.6% year-on-year. Data shows that the "old-for-new" policy for cars has driven a high year-on-year increase in car sales, with retail sales of domestic narrow passenger vehicles reaching 2.424 million in November, a year-on-year increase of 16.6%. As a result, the premium for automobile insurance by PICC increased by 7.5% year-on-year to 26.514 billion yuan in November. Zhong Yin International published a research report stating that this year, the Chinese insurance industry has entered a new stage of high-quality transformation under the protection of policies and a low-interest rate environment. In consideration of preventing interest rate risk, the life insurance industry has lowered the upper limit of the pricing interest rate by 100 basis points within two years, initiating a downward cycle of life insurance pricing rates. The bank pointed out that with the rapid increase in the number of new energy vehicles and penetration rate, the premium for car insurance is expected to further open up incremental space. The introduction of innovative non-car insurance products and the continued strengthening of regulatory risk reduction management lay the foundation for diversified operations and high-quality development in the industry.