Zheng Quan Ri Bao·2025-08-08 07:25Core Viewpoint - Insurance capital continues to show strong enthusiasm for acquiring bank stocks, with Ping An Life Insurance Company recently increasing its stake in China Merchants Bank H-shares, surpassing a 15% holding threshold, triggering a regulatory notice [1][3]. Group 1: Insurance Capital Activity - Ping An Life has increased its holdings in China Merchants Bank H-shares by 6.2955 million shares at an average price of HKD 54.19 per share, raising its stake from 14.87% to 15.01%, marking the third time it has triggered a regulatory notice this year [3]. - This year, insurance capital has frequently acquired bank stocks, particularly H-shares, with Ping An Asset Management also increasing its stakes in Agricultural Bank of China and Postal Savings Bank of China [2][3]. Group 2: Characteristics of Insurance Capital Acquisitions - The current trend shows that insurance capital favors large state-owned banks and major national joint-stock banks, primarily focusing on H-shares, and typically purchases from the secondary market using insurance liability reserves [5]. - The decision to frequently buy H-shares of state-owned banks is influenced by factors such as dividend yield, tax advantages, market capitalization, regulatory requirements, and cyclical resilience [5]. Group 3: Financial Analysis and Market Conditions - The H-shares of listed banks generally offer higher dividend yields compared to A-shares, with six major state-owned banks showing H-share dividend yields above 5% as of June 20 [5]. - The preference for H-shares is attributed to their lower price-to-book ratios, which range from 0.4 to 0.7, and tax benefits for long-term holdings through the Hong Kong Stock Connect [5].