Ma Mingzhe, the chairman of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company.

Ma Mingzhe, chairman of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company, China's second-largest insurer, will forgo his salary for 2008 after the company lost heavily on its investment in Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis, the company's Shenzhen-based spokesman Sheng Ruisheng said.

Ma is China's first chief executive to give up his salary since the global financial crisis deepened in the second half of last year.

Ma's pre-tax salary was 66.16 million yuan, some 4 million yuan of which was basic pay and the rest, bonuses, Ping An's 2007 annual report showed.

Li Tian, who owns 800 Ping An A shares, welcomed Ma's decision. "At least such a move makes it easy for us to accept such a huge economic loss," said Li.

The price of Ping An's A shares have shrunk by 78 percent since it peaked at 149 yuan on Oct 25, 2007.

Besides the sluggish stock market last year, Ping An's shares were also weighed down by its $2.3 billion loss on its Fortis investment.

(China Daily February 25, 2009)