China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd (CPIC), one of the country's largest insurance groups, posted an 11.2 billion yuan (US$1.64 billion) premium income in January, down 5 percent year-on-year, the insurer said in a statement to the Shanghai bourse on Monday.

China Pacific Life Insurance Co contributed 7 billion yuan, a fall of 12 percent on a yearly basis. The remaining 4.2 billion yuan came from China Pacific Property Insurance Co, up 22 percent year-on-year.

Despite the dip, CPIC's performance exceeded analysts' expectations. The total premium income of CPIC, China Life and Ping An is expected to exceed 55 billion yuan in January, up 11 percent year-on-year, experts said.

(China Daily February 16, 2009)