Zhongshan Public Utilities Group Co Ltd

The enthusiasm of insurance funds for building stakes in listed companies has clearly cooled this year. As of September 30, five insurers had built stakes in listed company stocks eight times, while in the first three quarters of 2025, 13 insurers had done so more than 30 times. Among the institutions, Ping An Life was the most active, completing four stake-building moves involving Agricultural Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, and China Life's H shares, with China Life being targeted twice. In addition, CPIC Life built a stake in Shanghai Airport, Fude Property Insurance in Yakang, Lian Life in Zhongshan Public Utilities, and New China Life in AviChina Industry and Technology in September. In terms of timing, the pace of insurance fund stake-building has been relatively steady this year, with four instances in the first quarter, only one in the second, and one each in July, August, and September of the third quarter. The most recent stake-building came from New China Life, which on September 22 increased its holding of AviChina Industry and Technology H shares by 16.876 million shares through centralized bidding on the secondary market, accounting for about 0.27% of the total issued H share capital of AviChina Industry and Technology. After the increase, it held a total of about 321 million H shares, with its shareholding ratio rising from 4.89% to 5.17%, triggering the stake-building disclosure. As of September 22, the company's total book balance of holdings in AviChina Industry and Technology was 822 million yuan, accounting for 0.04% of its total assets at the end of the previous quarter. As of the end of June this year, New China Life's book balance of equity assets was 440.275 billion yuan, accounting for 24.34% of its total assets at the end of the previous quarter. Compared with last year, this year's insurance fund stake-building has not only decreased significantly in number but also changed in target structure. In 2025, insurance fund stake-building was relatively concentrated in high-dividend financial stocks such as banks and insurers, especially H shares. This year's eight stake-building moves covered banks, insurance, transportation, public utilities, computing power infrastructure, and aviation technology. It is worth noting that the decline in stake-building frequency does not mean insurance funds are shrinking their equity allocation. Since the beginning of this year, insurance funds have continued to increase equity asset allocation, not only through direct purchases on the secondary market but also through negotiated transfers and IPO strategic placements.