Glonghui, April 29 | Goldman Sachs Research Report shows that China's Taibao's first-quarter results beat expectations, mainly because life insurance performance was stronger than expected, while property insurance profits were roughly in line with expectations. The value of life insurance's new business grew strongly year-on-year in the first quarter, mainly benefiting from a 31% year-on-year increase in first-year premiums for agents, while agent transformation continued to drive improvements in productivity and profit margins, as well as a decline in bank insurance commissions. The report also indicated that the company's shareholders' equity rose 3% in the first quarter of 2024, higher than its closest peers. The bank believes that this is because changes in fair value are taken into account in the higher allocation of other full-yield bonds and there is a slight delay in confirming the decline in bond yields. The company's life insurance core solvency ratio fell 9 percentage points to 108% in the first quarter, reflecting investment results and increased capital demand due to business growth. The bank set a target price of HK$19 for the company's H shares, giving it a “neutral” rating. In addition, the bank also raised the company's earnings per share forecast for 2024 to 2026 to $3.32, $3.44 and $3.59, respectively.