Ping An Named Best in Corporate Governance in China by the Asset
Another Hit After Named by Forbes as One of the World’s 500
Strongest Listed Companies and Number One Non-SOE in China
HONG KONG, 27 April 2007 –Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd. (“Ping An” or the “Group”, HKSE: 2318; SSE: 601318) announced yesterday that it was named Best Company in China in Corporate Governance by The Asset Magazine in its Corporate Governance Rankings 2007.
This follows recognition of Ping An’s achievements earlier this month by Forbes Magazine which named Ping An as one of the world’s 500 strongest listed companies and ranked it No.1 in the non-state-owned enterprises (Non-SOE) category.
These two awards are clear tributes from the international financial community to Ping An’s consistent progress over the past few years, in achieving remarkable business growth and performance based on its world-class corporate governance standards.
The Asset Magazine, established in 1999, is a well-known English-language financial business magazine covering capital markets, wealth management and private banking in Asia. Its readers are mainly top-level executives in multinational enterprises, investment banks, commercial banks, securities brokerages, financial institutions and industry consultants and providers of financial services in Asia.
The Asset Corporate Governance Ranking is based on a six-month survey in which participating companies were asked to complete a questionnaire about their adherence to basic principles of corporate governance. Next, institutional investors were asked to vote for their choice of companies which in their view practice good corporate governance. Finally, The Asset Magazine conducted a series of interviews, and whenever possible, spoke to senior executives at the participating companies to probe understand their approach to corporate governance. The ranking is based on the assessment of the participating companies’ adherence to corporate governance principles, timeliness of information disclosure, transparency, adherence to accounting rules, quality of regulatory compliance and comprehensiveness of their risk management mechanisms. Participating companies are among the best in Asia across several industries. With such a strict process and assessment criteria, this ranking is viewed as the most objective and authoritative of its kind.
The Judges on the Ranking Panel were particularly impressed with a number of actions undertaken by Ping An to enhance its corporate governance standards. First, prior to the listing of it’s A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange earlier this year, Ping An appointed three new independent directors, bringing the total number of independents on the Board to seven. Second, the Company has consistently adhered to the best international corporate governance practices, implementing strict internal controls and effective checks and balances to ensure best governance. Third, it has undertaken a comprehensive review of its governance practices to ensure better protection of minority interests. Finally, it has also worked with extensive effort in preparing a report to be submitted to the relevant regulatory authorities to resolve differences in compliance requirements between China and Hong Kong.
In fact, it was 10 years ago that Ping An already started to build a management and corporate governance system in line with international standards, with the help of its foreign strategic shareholders,. From being the first Chinese insurance company with a shareholding structure and the first Chinese insurance company with foreign ownership, all the way to the first diversified Chinese financial services conglomerate with “legal person” shareholders, Ping An has become increasingly well respected throughout the last 19 years for its rule-based corporate governance structure, international management team and advanced operating system. Ping An has been named twice “Best Managed Company in Asia” by Euromoney Magazine. It was ranked 5th in Asia, 1st in China and named “Best Managed Insurance Company in Asia” in 2006.
The 2007 Asset Corporate Governance for the Greater China region is divided into three categories: China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The top three of the six Chinese companies enlisted are: Ping An, Bank of Communications, China Resources (Holdings) Company Limited and Datang International Power Generation Co., Ltd. (coequal).
