On 10 April, the third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) kicked off in Haikou as scheduled. As the first major international exhibition held in China after the smooth transition of epidemic prevention and control, the expo attracted more than 3,100 well-known brands from more than 60 countries and regions to participate in the expo. It is expected that more than 50,000 buyers and professional visitors will visit the expo. The popularity of the expo also reflects that with the help of a series of measures to optimize consumer supply and boost consumer confidence, the consumer market, which has been affected by the three-year pandemic, is ushering in a full recovery.
Fosun, which is participating in the expo for three consecutive years, is bringing more than 20 brands from its tourism, fashion, jewelry, cosmetics, liquor and spirits, sports and entertainment sectors to the CICPE this year. In recent years, Fosun has been accelerating its focus on its core businesses in the household consumption sector. Driven by the two core growth engines of global operations and innovation, Fosun has continued to work on its development plans around the needs of global families. The CICPE shows that a new round of consumption recovery may have already arrived, and new consumer trends have also emerged. How will Fosun, which has many world-renowned brands and IPs, leverage its strengths to ride on the momentum?
Deepening global operations, core businesses in the household consumption sector usher in a period of rapid growth opportunities
Although the pandemic has had a certain impact on the domestic economy, the general trend of consumption upgrading has not been reversed, and the key to consumption upgrading lies in the improvement of quality and style. According to the recently released Kantar China Consumer Attitudes Report for the first quarter of 2023, compared with December last year, consumer’s demand for product quality have not decreased with budget savings, and the proportion of consumers who prioritize quality has increased significantly. Among them, vacation has become a category that domestic consumers are willing to spend more on.
At Fosun’s booth in Hall 5 of the fashion lifestyle exhibition area of the expo, the two international resort brands under Fosun Tourism Group (FTG), Club Med and Atlantis Sanya attracted many visitors.
It is understood that Club Med from France is a global leader in premium “all-inclusive” holidays with a history of more than 70 years. It currently operates nearly 70 resorts on six continents around the world. After nearly eight years of profound operations by Fosun, Club Med has achieved considerable development in the global market, especially in China and the Asia-Pacific region, with customers from more than 35 countries and regions. In the face of the recurrent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, Club Med still opened seven new resorts, providing sufficient impetus for the strong rebound in tourism demand in the post-pandemic era.
It is worth mentioning that Club Med innovatively launched the Joyview brand in China, focusing on the demand for short-haul suburban holidays within a three-hour drive from major cities. During the pandemic, it has accumulated a large number of fans due to its premium, flexible, and high-degree of freedom product features. Club Med currently operates nearly 10 resorts in China, and plans to open three new resorts by the end of this year, including Nanjing’s Xianlin area, Taicang as well as Chengdu’s Heilongtan town.
Atlantis Sanya, as a phenomenal tourism destination, has become the benchmark for Hainan Tourism 3.0 upgrade. Since its opening in 2018, the resort has received more than 20 million visitors in the past five years. The constantly launch of new IP activities makes it a must-visit holiday destination for many families every year. This year, Atlantis Sanya centered on the two core strategies of “entertainment hub for families and global dining destination”, and continued to iteratively update products with better multi-dimensional business linkage, such as the 5th Anniversary Pink Night Celebration, customized fireworks shows, the introduction of the century-old restaurant Songhelou and the month-long 5th Anniversary Super Shopping Festival.
The results announcement released by FTG last month showed that Club Med and Atlantis Sanya both ushered in auspicious starts in the first two months of this year, reflecting the “retaliatory rebound” of tourism consumption demand in the post-pandemic era. The seven-night occupancy rate of Club Med resorts in China continued to rise during the Spring Festival holiday, and the occupancy rate of many resorts exceeded 90%, the total business volume doubled compared with the same period in 2022, and surpassed the same period in 2019 by about 30%. Atlantis Sanya recorded a business volume of RMB400 million in the first two months of 2023, with an average room occupancy rate of 96%, and the business recovery continues to improve.
Fashion consumption is rapidly returning in tandem with tourism and vacation consumption. On the one hand, with the complete removal of travel restrictions, the release of social and business demands has driven the rapid growth of consumer goods such as cosmetics, apparel and jewelry. On the other hand, with the popularity of the Internet, the fashion consumption threshold of Chinese consumers is getting higher and higher, and personalization and diversification have become a major trend in fashion consumption.
In the fashion consumption segment, Fosun is bringing brands including Lanvin, a French couture house with more than 130 years of heritage, St. John, a California-based classic women knitwear brand, Sergio Rossi, an Italian luxury footwear brand, Wolford, an Austrian luxury skinwear brand, Djula, a French designer jewelry brand, AHAVA, an Israeli skincare brand, and WEI, a high-end Chinese herbal skincare brand to the expo.
The Lanvin brand was reborn after joining Fosun in 2018. Its operating parent company, Lanvin Group, is one of the fastest growing companies in the global luxury goods industry. For the full year of 2022, Lanvin Group achieved unaudited revenue of EUR425 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 38%, of which the revenue of its flagship brand Lanvin increased by 67% year-on-year. Its business in Greater China still saw a 13% revenue growth despite the pandemic. The brand has also gained significant appeal among young customers. On 15 December 2022, Lanvin Group was successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange, accumulating momentum for a new round of development.
Xu Xiaoliang, Co-CEO of Fosun International and Chairman of FTG, said, “The three-year pandemic has hindered some consumption, but people’s pursuit of quality lifestyle has never stopped. High-quality products and brands are the foundation to win out the cycle. Now that the recovery cycle has begun, Fosun will give full play to its strengths in the world’s top IPs such as Club Med, Atlantis Sanya, and Lanvin, to seize the recovery opportunities, and promote the upgrading of domestic consumption.”
Focusing on oriental lifestyle aesthetics, leading the rise of Chinese local consumer brands with innovation
At the beginning of this year, the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival held by Yuyuan, a subsidiary of Fosun, in celebration of the Year of the Rabbit became a trending topic on domestic and foreign social media. Inspired by Shanhaijing, also known as the Classic of Mountains and Seas, a famous Chinese legend consisting of mythical figures and stories, the 52-day lantern festival attracted more than 4 million visits. The rabbit lantern launched at the lantern festival was highly sought-after by many visitors.
In recent years, the consumer trend of China-chic has continued to gain steam. Through iterative upgrading, some time-honored brands have won the favor of young consumers by virtue of their novel design, national charm and high quality. A relevant survey showed that as of 2021, the market size of the China-chic industry reached RMB1.25 trillion.
At this year’s CICPE, a number of Chinese time-honored brands and innovative domestic brands under Fosun are participating in the expo, focusing on “oriental lifestyle aesthetics” to seize opportunities of consumption upgrading. Laomiao, a China-chic gold jewelry brand is presenting jewelry pieces from the Weiding Love series, Guyun Peace series, and Laomiao Youque series. Shanghai Watch is presenting a limited-edition watch in collaboration with animation “The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven” produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Shede Spirits is presenting a number of international spirits award-winning products, including Wisdom Shede, Tunzhihu (sauce-flavored), and Shede Classic at the expo.
Among them, Laomiao’s Peace series was launched in December last year. With the deconstructive design that integrates Chinese and Western styles, the series successfully boosted the sales of the Laomiao Guyun Gold series to exceed RMB5 billion in 2022. As for China-chic wedding gold jewelry, the Laomiao Youque series heavily influenced by Chinese culture represented by the oriental lifestyle aesthetics from the three dimensions of exoticism, Jiangnan style and the golden ages of the Han and Tang Dynasties has achieved a sales of more than RMB230 million across all channels since its launch in July 2022.
In addition to product innovation, Fosun also harvested a large amount of scarce resources last year. The Yuyuan consortium won the rights to a plot of the Yuyuan Fuyou Road in the core area of Huangpu District, Shanghai, which will connect Yuyuan Tourist Mart, Bund Finance Center and the second phase of Yuyuan project that is about to start construction to form the Grand Yuyuan. The establishment of Grand Yuyuan will serve as a concrete demonstration of Oriental Lifestyle Aesthetics and a global fashion and cultural showground.
It is worth mentioning that, as the chairman unit of the Shanghai International Fashion Federation (SIFF), Fosun also cooperates with the member units of the SIFF to showcase the fashion charm of oriental lifestyle aesthetics to the world through various forms. On 10 April, following the “The Elegance of China: Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua” opening show of the first fashion week at the CICPE last year, GRACE CHEN, the vice president unit of the SIFF showcased “The Splendor of Chinese Literature” collection at the opening show this year, using literary imagination to interpret contemporary oriental aesthetic fashion.
Market analysts believe that in the past two decades, with the acceleration of economic globalization and the deepening of China’s opening-up, countless overseas brands have entered the Chinese market, and a great number of local brands have also expanded into global markets. However, it is not easy for a brand to gain recognition from global consumers. Global brands have become the goal pursued by thousands of companies by virtue of their consumer recognition, business premium, and ability to win out economic cycles. For that reason, Fosun’s well-known brands and IPs with global operations are especially valuable, and will also become the foundation for Fosun to win out economic cycles and return to the trajectory of rapid business growth.
“After 30 years of development, Fosun’s positioning as ‘a global innovation-driven consumer group’ and its mission of ‘serving one billion families worldwide’ have become very clear. Focusing on the consumption needs of families, our businesses have grown steadily. We always believe that people’s aspirations for a happier and brighter life and the fundamentals of China’s long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged regardless of the external situation. In the future, Fosun will continue to strengthen innovation, deepen global operations, and refine more good products and services in the hope of creating happier lives for families,” Guo Guangchang said.
Category: Finance
Sunshine Insurance: Creating a New Customer Strategy and Fully Promoting High-Value Development
As a stabilizer of the country and society, in recent years, China’s insurance industry has played an important role in compensating for disaster losses, maintaining social stability, and supporting China’s economic development. On March 29, 2023, Sunshine Insurance Group (Sunshine Insurance or the Company, HKG: 6963), a rapidly growing private insurance service group in China, announced its full-year performance for the year ended December 31, 2022.
In 2022, Sunshine Insurance adhered to its focus on the insurance industry and value development, and all business segments maintained a good development trend, achieving steady and healthy growth in overall business performance. The total revenue for the year was 128.58 billion (RMB, Yuan, the same as below), a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. The net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company was 4.88 billion. The total premium income was 108.74 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%; among them, the premium income of Sunshine Life Insurance was 68.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%, and the premium income of Sunshine Property and Casualty Insurance was 40.38 billion.
Pushing forward the “Vertical and Horizontal Partners” strategy and effectively increasing the number of customers has seen rapid growth.
The 20th National Congress report regards “qualitative and effective improvement with reasonable growth in quantity” as the intrinsic requirement for high-quality economic development. Sunshine Insurance has taken this as the fundamental guideline and direction for the company’s development, upholding the value development concept. According to the annual report, Sunshine Insurance achieved embedded value of 101.27 billion in 2022, an increase of 8.0%. Sunshine Life Insurance achieved new business value of 3.02 billion in one year, which is a rare positive growth in the industry. In the future, the company will continue to adhere to the value development concept, leading to a steady improvement in overall business performance.
In recent years, the industry as a whole has entered a period of deep adjustment and transformation. Faced with increasingly diversified and differentiated customer demands, the insurance supply side also needs to proactively adapt to new customer demands and listen to new customer voices. In terms of customer management, Sunshine Insurance takes the “Vertical and Horizontal Partners” strategic plan as a starting point, deeply implementing the “Vertical and Horizontal” plan for individuals and families, and building multi-level and differentiated product service ecosystems that cover the entire life cycle of families around core needs such as health, pension, children’s education, and wealth management. In addition, the company takes “Partner” actions for enterprise organizations, providing a system integration of risk solutions for corporate clients, promoting Sunshine’s transformation from a simple economic compensation insurance provider to a risk management service support provider, and winning a rapid increase in effective customers. According to the annual report, as of the end of 2022, the company had approximately 32.88 million effective customers, providing strong support for the company’s business growth with a huge user base.
The company is fully promoting digital transformation and technological innovation, actively fulfilling its social responsibilities.
While focusing on its main business, Sunshine Insurance is comprehensively promoting digital transformation and technological innovation, promoting online and intelligent business operations, and enhancing the company’s value. Sunshine Life Insurance is promoting the application of digital technology in sales support, customer service, risk prevention, and other aspects, empowering business and operational efficiency. Sunshine Property and Casualty Insurance is leveraging core technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things to empower service, sales, claims, products, operations, and the entire ecosystem of the business process and its peripheral areas. The company won 14 external technology innovation awards and obtained 13 new authorized patents in 2022. It can be anticipated that with the continuous acceleration of digital transformation, the company’s operational efficiency will continue to be optimized, and its foundation for high-quality development will be further consolidated.
It is worth mentioning that since its establishment, Sunshine Insurance has always remembered its original mission and actively fulfilled its social responsibilities. According to the annual report, in 2022, the company provided risk protection of 44.5 trillion for the real economy, provided risk protection of 82.2 billion for the “Belt and Road” project, provided risk protection of more than 170 billion for small and micro enterprises, helped small and micro enterprises obtain financing of 14.5 billion, and provided green insurance protection of nearly 60 trillion. The sustainable investment balance more than 40 billion, contributing Sunshine’s strength in serving the real economy, protecting people’s livelihood, promoting common prosperity, and promoting a green China.
Overall, in 2022, facing the turbulent international environment and arduous development tasks, Sunshine Insurance responded promptly and rose to the challenges, delivering a satisfactory “report card.” Zhang Weigong, the founder, the Chairman, and CEO of Sunshine Insurance Group, said, “The company will continue to adhere to its development strategy, promote high-quality development and high-value growth through reform and transformation measures, and strive to build the company into a customer-driven high-value growth insurance group.” In the future, the company will strengthen its core competitiveness, fully exert its insurance protection function, provide high-quality product services to customers, escort the stable operation of the economy, and create more value for shareholders and investors.
Sunshine Insurance Released 2022 Annual Results: Keeping a High-quality and Steady Development
On March 29, Sunshine Insurance Group (Company or Sunshine Insurance) released its first results report after going public. Looking back at 2022, the Chinese insurance industry faced multiple challenges, including increased marketing difficulties, weaken consumer willingness, and market volatility, etc. Under this backdrop, In the Annual Results Announcement on March 30, Mr. Zhang Weigong, the founder of Sunshine Insurance, said,” Sunshine has successfully passed this high-intensity stress test”. Meanwhile, he also stated that the whole company has further established customer-oriented thinking through some measures and reforms, ” The overall improvement of customer-oriented thinking was the biggest progress for Sunshine Insurance in 2022″. Sunshine Insurance focuses on its core insurance business, continuously strengthens the company’s value development capabilities, maintains steady growth in overall business performance, and highlights the company’s strong business resilience.
Overall, Sunshine Insurance Group’s total assets in 2022 increased steadily, with continuous growth in premium income . As of the end of 2022, the company’s total assets were approximately RMB 485.36 billion, an increase of 9.9% compared to the beginning of the year. The company achieved total income of RMB 128.58 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%; among which the total premium income was RMB 108.74 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%. The company achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 4.88 billion.
Business development has shown great resilience and value creation capabilities continue to strengthen
In 2022, Sunshine Insurance Group adhered to the development philosophy of “Stability and Excellence,” continuously optimized channel layout, accelerated model innovation, maintained stable growth in premium scale, continuously increased intrinsic value, and maintained a stable business structure. As of the end of 2022, the company’s intrinsic value was approximately RMB101.27 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.0%, continuing to maintain a good growth trend.
In the life insurance business, Sunshine Life Insurance adhered to a value-led approach and continued to solidify the foundation for business development through a diversified and collaborative channel development model, with a focus on “multi-line development.” In terms of channels, the agency channel accelerated its transformation, and the per capita productivity further increased, with a 31% year-on-year increase in the number of MDRT qualified agents. The bancassurance channel focused on value development, and the renewal rate improved year by year. In addition, Sunshine Life Insurance also continued to accelerate the development of other channels and optimize its business structure. In 2022, Sunshine Life Insurance achieved new single-period premium income of RMB 14.75 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%; the new business value was RMB 3.02 billion, achieving a counter-trend positive growth trend in the context of pressure on new business value across the industry.
In the property insurance business, Sunshine Property Insurance continued to deepen its personal customer management, enhance its risk management service guarantee, and saw rapid improvement in profitability. Business development in all insurance categories accelerated, and the comprehensive claims ratio and comprehensive expense ratio decreased by 1.6 and 3.6 percentage points year-on-year respectively. The application of intelligent life tables in auto insurance continued to improve, while the non-auto insurance risk identification and product pricing capabilities steadily increased, and risk reduction management showed initial results. In 2022, Sunshine Property Insurance achieved a premium income of RMB 40.38 billion, achieving a net profit of RMB 1.602 billion.
Promoting digital transformation comprehensively and open up future growth space with scientific and technological strength
Currently, the insurance industry has entered a new stage of digital transformation. Sunshine Insurance Group focuses on process optimization and the application of data and models, continuously improving its core capabilities in digital customer insights, digital marketing, digital product innovation, digital risk control, and digital operations, promoting the improvement of the company’s operational efficiency and service quality, promoting the improvement of the company’s operating efficiency and service quality.
In terms of customer service, Sunshine Life Insurance relies on the “My Sunshine” App intelligent service platform to provide customers with a 7×24-hour ultimate service experience, achieving effective connection between customers and the company. As of 2022, the My Sunshine App has accumulated 4.022 million users, and served 60.743 million users throughout the year. Sunshine Property Insurance relies on the Sunshine Online platform to continuously optimize customer service processes and provide customers with one-stop convenient services. It has served more than 120 million customers with a service satisfaction rate of up to 94%.
In terms of risk prevention, Sunshine Insurance Group uses big data and machine learning technologies to continuously improve its risk identification and risk control capabilities. Taking life insurance as an example, Sunshine Life Insurance combines customer protection needs, health trends, and industry regulations to deepen the field of health big data, promote health big data projects, and match product demand for thousands of people based on individual customer health. The company has developed predictive model for risk and improved the accuracy of pricing long-term insurance products, as well as the ability to prevent risks before they occur. These efforts have helped to promote the company’s value development.
Technology is the next competitive field for insurance companies. Sunshine Insurance, which is at the forefront of the industry, continues to promote digital upgrades, enhance its competitive advantages, and is expected to open up a new blue ocean of value and win greater opportunities for future development.
In the future, Sunshine Insurance Group will continue to adhere to its core business and focus on its main responsibilities, continuously upgrade and enrich its product supply, optimize its business layout, strengthen technological innovation, continuously stimulate the company’s internal dynamic and development vitality, and stride towards on the road of high-quality development.
Global Corporate Reputation Scores Continue to Decline According to the 2023 Global RepTrak(R) 100 from The RepTrak Company
The RepTrak Company(TM), the world’s leading reputation data and insights company, announces the results of its 2023 Global RepTrak(R) 100. The report is the world’s most comprehensive study of corporate reputation, compiled for the past 13 years using RepTrak’s in-depth analysis and ranking of the top 100 companies worldwide by Reputation Score.
Utilizing its advanced reputation monitoring software, RepTrak gathered data from more than 230,000 ratings globally to understand the public’s perceptions of the most important elements of corporate reputation: ESG (Environmental/Social/Governance), workplace fairness, leadership, innovation, branding, and more.
Available today is the complete 2023 Global RepTrak 100(R) ranking and report, with comprehensive analysis of global, industry, and demographic trends, at https://www.reptrak.com/rankings/
This data shows how people think, feel and act towards particular companies and ranks those companies based on the RepTrak Reputation Score.
The continued downfall of corporate reputation
In 2022, the global RepTrak Reputation Score went down for the first time since 2018. In 2023, this decrease continued on a global scale, with global Reputation Scores settling at an average of 73.2, down from 74.2 in 2022.
“Even with corporate reputation down in 2023,” says RepTrak CEO Mark Sonders, “Top 100 companies are exceptional in their efforts, rising up to intense and complex stakeholder expectations on ethical, supply chain, and workplace issues globally. There’s always room for improvement, but Top 100 companies are leading the way.”
ESG remains important but expectations are unmet
The global ESG score was also down this year. Each individual driver saw a significant decrease, with Environmental experiencing the biggest decline. RepTrak data has shown that perceptions of a company’s leadership in ESG have a direct impact on purchase intent – the public’s willingness to buy from a company goes from 20% with a weak ESG score to 60% with a high score.
“This year’s ESG results serve as a reminder: it’s not just about what you do, it’s about how you do it,” says Sonders. “ESG is only increasing in importance, affecting how we buy, trust, and recommend the brands we interact with.”
Financial concerns are top of mind
As part of its reputation measurement and monitoring platform, RepTrak also measures the actions stakeholders are willing to take when considering, supporting, and engaging with a company, referred to as Business Outcomes. Business Outcomes Willingness to Buy, Willingness to Invest, and Willingness to Work For all experienced significant decreases in 2023 demonstrating a clear frustration with the current economic state. Inflation is being felt on a global scale.
“The combination of a global decrease in reputation paired with an unpredictable financial landscape has stakeholders nervous to interact with brands,” warns Mark Sonders. “How organizations manage their approach to a potential recession will impact stakeholders beyond 2023.”
2022’s Reputation Leaders
The top 10 companies by Reputation Score, as ranked in the 2023 Global RepTrak(R) 100, are:
The LEGO Group
The Bosch Group
Rolls-Royce Aerospace
Harley-Davidson, Inc.
Canon
Rolex SA
Miele
Sony
Nintendo
Mercedes-Benz
The LEGO Group is the World’s Most Reputable Company in 2023, but this is not their first #1 ranking. They achieved RepTrak’s #1 spot in 2020 and 2021, dropped to #3 in 2022, and now they’ve returned. Although their Reputation Scores have decreased, a well-rounded approach to supporting the world of play, combined with a dedicated focus to ethical practices makes them a global reputation favorite.
“I am very honored that the LEGO Group has been named the World’s Most Reputable Company in 2023,” says Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of the LEGO Group. “This reflects the unwavering passion and commitment of our colleagues to help keep our promises during a year shaped by significant challenges. Children are our role models and inspire us to make choices that make their future world better. This means not only innovating LEGO play but also constantly striving to have a positive impact on environment and society.”
The IKEA Group experienced a notable increase rank in 2023, landing at #24 on this year’s list, up from #52 in 2022. With a 0.9-point increase in Reputation Score and a 1.0-point increase in their Products & Services Score, an indicator of their price-friendly utility in the face of inflation. Inflation remains a top concern internationally, with global average Products & Services Scores down from 1.0-point from 2022, with particular concern on quality for value.
Workplace concerns persists
As a Reputation Driver, Workplace decreased to the lowest Score amongst Drivers in 2023. Widespread layoffs have individual RepTrak Reputation factors including “equal opportunities in the workplace,” “rewards employees fairly,” and “concerned for employee well-being,” decreasing significantly.
When respondents were asked What actions do you want companies to prioritize during a recession? Their top priority was “[Avoiding] staff layoffs.”
But layoffs haven’t lowered employment standards established during the Great Resignation. As part of our Business Outcomes, RepTrak measures Willingness to Work For. In 2023, Work For Scores have decreased. Even in the face of unemployment, worker scrutiny has not let up. It is important for employers to maintain fair and attractive employee benefits, especially as inflation erodes workers’ purchasing power.
“As the Great Resignation concluded and massive layoffs began, both workers and customers want their favorite brands to be good employers,” explains Sonders. “RepTrak data demonstrates a lot is wrong in the world of work, but avoiding layoffs in the face of recession is key in the eyes of stakeholders.”
Additional notable findings:
– Reputation was down across industries and across organizations. Results at the individual company level show the same: company scores in the Global RepTrak Top 10 and Top 100 have lower scores than in 2022.
– Brand Scores have also decreased, suggesting that branding efforts are losing their way.
– Notable increases in rank include Booking.com (+43), Hewlett Packard (+42), Novartis (+32), Honda Motor Company (+31), and Aldi GmbH & Co. KG (+31)
– Baby Boomers are the most optimistic generation studied, while Millennials experienced the largest YoY Reputation Score decrease, and Gen Z seems to have settled further into their corporate pessimism
Report and Methodology
RepTrak helps companies understand how stakeholders feel, think, and act towards them, measuring Reputation using a 0-100 scale and tracking how a company is perceived across several Reputation drivers: Products & Services, Innovation, Citizenship, Performance, Governance, Leadership and Workplace. RepTrak’s proprietary measurement system has been developed to allow worldwide application on a normative scale, which enables direct comparison regardless of sector, size, or geography.
For consideration in the 2022 Global RepTrak(R) 100, a company had to meet the following criteria:
– Be a corporate brand with global revenue above USD $2 billion
– Achieve a global average familiarity threshold above 20 percent in all fourteen countries measured and a familiarity threshold above 20 percent in seven or more of the fourteen countries measured
– Reach a qualifying Reputation Score above the median score (i.e., 67.3 points)
To determine the ranking, The RepTrak Company analyzed Reputation data for several thousand companies which was collected between December 2022 and January 2023 using world-class survey methodology and was enriched by RepTrak’s historical database. Companies that met these criteria were then ranked based on their global Reputation Scores. A company’s corporate Reputation is determined using RepTrak’s proprietary and patent-pending Reputation Score – a score from 0-100 that measures how people feel towards a particular company. Reputation Scores demonstrate a strong positive relationship with business outcomes, such as an audience’s willingness to buy, recommend, or trust a company. The top 100 companies with the highest Reputation Scores made the final ranking.
The Global RepTrak(R) 100 ranking is based on more than 230,000 ratings collected across the 14 largest economies globally using online surveys. For access to the report, visit https://www.reptrak.com/rankings/
About RepTrak
The RepTrak Company(TM) is the world’s leading Reputation data and insights company. We provide the only global platform for data-driven insights on Reputation, Brand, and ESG. Our proprietary RepTrak(R) model is the global standard for measuring and analyzing the sentiment of the world using proven data science models and machine learning techniques across industries and geographies.
Subscribers to the RepTrak(R) Program use our predictive insights to protect business value, improve return on investment, and increase their positive impact on society.
Established in 2004, The RepTrak Company owns the world’s largest Reputation benchmarking database of over 1 million company ratings per year used by CEOs, boards, and executives in more than 60 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.reptrak.com.
Contact:
Ali Jawin
pr@reptrak.com
SOURCE: The RepTrak Company
HKTDC launches seven parallel events to cover lifestyle products and licensing
As Asia’s cultural and creativity hub, Hong Kong brings together innovative ideas and design talents. Coupled with the increasing demand of sophisticated consumers in pursuit of excellence, innovation and quality life, various industries such as fashion, lifestyle, product design and licensing are developing rapidly, creating abundant business opportunities.
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will hold a series of exhibitions and conferences this spring, covering various lifestyle sectors. The seven events will run concurrently for the first time, from 19-22 April at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The events include the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair; Home InStyle (formerly the Hong Kong Houseware Fair); the Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair; Fashion InStyle (formerly Hong Kong Fashion Week); the Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair as well as the Hong Kong International Licensing Show and Asian Licensing Conference which will end on 21 April. Under the EXHIBITION+ hybrid model, exhibitors and buyers have the opportunity to participate beyond physical shows, through the intelligent Click2Match platform which will run until 29 April.
Ms Sophia Chong, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, said: “Hong Kong is a unique creative and cultural hub where East meets West and the city always excels in creativity. The HKTDC has been committed to promoting creative and design industries, help develop Hong Kong as Asia’s city of culture and creativity. This year, the HKTDC gathers a number of large-scale exhibitions in April, covering lifestyle products and licensing to strengthen cross-industry and cross-field cooperation, creating even greater synergy to the industries.”
“Since Hong Kong returned to normality, the HKTDC has organised several large-scale trade fairs and forums. Both domestic and international exhibitors and buyers showed support by attending the events physically, which is very encouraging. This time, the six major exhibitions attract over 3,800 exhibitors from 23 countries and regions, with 70% being non-local exhibitors who will participate in person. More than 20 international licensing leaders will also join the Asian Licensing Conference.” she added.
The HKTDC invited buyers from all over the world through its 50 global offices, and expected the participation of 170 buying missions from 50 countries and regions – including Mainland China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, India, the Middle East, Germany, France and the United States.
Cultural & Creative Corner to debut at Gifts Fair and Home InStyle
The Hong Kong Houseware Fair has been renamed Home InStyle, in keeping with the latest developments; with the expectation of bringing more design and style-oriented products to buyers. The upcoming Gifts & Premium Fair, Home InStyle, and the Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair will draw more than 2,650 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions, reaffirming Hong Kong’s position as a renowned global hub for lifestyle product procurement. The Gifts & Premium Fair and Home InStyle will feature a brand-new Cultural & Creative Corner, promoting designer brands and products with unique styles. Additionally, the Gifts & Premium Fair will feature pavilions from a range of countries and regions including Mainland China and South Korea. At Home InStyle, a first-time participant – the Industrial Designers Society of Hong Kong (IDSHK) will feature 12 exhibitors and present multiple design-led crossover product series from the ReMIX Program, covering lifestyle items, accessories-decorations, electronic devices, furniture and household essentials. Each product integrates the essence of brand and unique creativity, offering global buyers a glimpse into local design scene.
The fairs will also feature several themed zones. At Home InStyle, the Zhejiang Pavilion will feature unique products from various provincial cities under the Zhejiang Ingenuity: Culture and Quality theme, providing a one-stop sourcing experience for buyers. The mainland’s Yuecheng District of Zhejiang Province will debut a pavilion at the Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair.
As branded products have always been popular amongst consumers, the Hall of Fine Designs at the Gifts & Premium Fair and the Hall of Elegance at Home InStyle will present various prominent designers and international brands. In addition, the Hong Kong Exporters Association will set up a pavilion at the Gifts & Premium Fair – featuring 21 local exhibitors and award-winning products from the Hong Kong Smart Design Awards.
Several seminars will also be hosted covering various topics. The seminar “Feel the Pulse of the Upcoming Trend in 2023” will delve into the latest consumer trends for this year, as well as the optimisation of business-to-business (B2B) marketing through ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Representatives from the Business Environment Council and local eco-friendly companies will also discuss how to integrate sustainable development into their products. Expert speakers from the Hong Kong Design Centre and the Hong Kong Interior Design Association will share experiences on creative designs; while the Hong Kong Retail Technology Association and several start-up representatives will analyse how e-commerce and metaverse applications can strengthen business resilience.
Fashion technology takes centre stage
In the first quarter of this year, the HKTDC Export Index surged by 9.3 points to reach 39.0, with the clothing industry being the most optimistic, seeing an index jump of 27.7 points to 51.5. As a leading trade show in the Asian fashion and textile industry, Hong Kong Fashion Week, renamed Fashion InStyle, brings together nearly 430 exhibitors covering the entire industry chain from upstream to downstream. The highlighted zone InnoFashion and Trade Services gathers 12 exhibitors demonstrating cutting-edge fashion technologies, including 3D printed fashion, artificial intelligence (AI) and wireless radio frequency identification technology (RFID). One of the exhibitors, AiDLab, will host the Innovation in Design Summit 2023, where industry experts from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Art will share how AI technology can be applied to the fashion industry. Another exhibitor, Stratasys, will unveil its latest 3D printing textile technology during the seminars. In addition, several fashion shows will be held during fair period, showcasing the latest clothing designs from multiple fashion brands.
The Hong Kong International Printing and Packaging Fair, jointly organised by HKTDC and CIEC Exhibition Company (Hong Kong) Limited, will feature over 450 exhibitors. The highlighted zones, World of DeLuxe PrintPack and Green Printing & Packaging Solutions, will spotlight a wide range of premium and eco-friendly printing and packaging solutions. A series of seminars and forums will be held with industry representatives sharing the latest industry insights and global trends. Topics will include: ESG – Design & Printing; New Technology on Print Color Control: CTV, Going Green: Innovations in Sustainable Packaging; and The Latest Trend in Prepress: IT Innovations for Printing Industry.
Showcasing diversified global licensing projects and unveiling market trends
This year’s Hong Kong International Licensing Show will showcase more than 500 licensing projects and brands, featuring top global licensors and licensing agents such as CAA-GBG Global Brands Management Group, MediaLink, Wildbrain CPLG and more. The Licensing Show will feature nine group pavilions – including the Mainland, Macao, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan, presenting unique brands from various regions. Meanwhile, with the dedicated support of CreateHK, the DLAB Hong Kong Pavilion will showcase 45 local original Intellectual Properties (IP) and brands to promote the strength of homegrown design, including SHIBAINC, Falling Cyan, Malut Design and 8EGGS Studio.
Over at the concurrent Asian Licensing Conference, more than 20 experts from the global licensing field will gather to discuss hot topics, including the latest developments in global licensing, location-based marketing (LBM) and sport licensing, keeping participants up-to-date on market trends. Overseas speakers will include Ben Peace, Vice President for the Asia Pacific at WildBrain CPLG (the agency for PEANUTS, Sonic Prime, and the Teletubbies); Maura Regan, President of Licensing International; and Yvonne Chou, Head of Global Marketing at VICTOR Rackets Industrial Corp, (the badminton brand in cooperation with various IPs such as Peanuts, Hello Kitty, One Piece). The Licensing Academy, organised by Licensing International and supported by the Intellectual Property Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, will host a speaker from Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture. The speaker will share insights on how “royalty-free” marketing creates a win-win licensing model and how the IP of prefecture mascot Kumamon is protected. The event will also feature a session themed “Powering change: Women in innovation and creativity”, in the spirit of World Intellectual Property (IP) Day on 26 April.
Related statistics: Hong Kong export performance
2022 | January to February 2023
Houseware 275 billion (-20.8%) | 36.7 billion (-27%)
Home Textiles 560 million (-37%) | 60 million (-41.5%)
Gifts & Premium 177.6 billion (-2.8%) | 27.9 billion (-0.1%)
Clothing 53.5 billion (-19.8%) | 7.9 billion (-16.6%)
Printed Matter 9.9 billion (-37.2%) | 1.2 billion (-45.3%)
Packaging Material 14.5 billion (-33.3%) | 1.7 billion (-45%)
Websites
– The HKTDC’s Media Room: http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/en
– HK Gifts & Premium Fair: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkgiftspremiumfair/en
– Home InStyle: https://www.hktdc.com/event/homeinstyle/en
– HK Intl’ Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkhometextilesfair/en
– Fashion InStyle: https://www.hktdc.com/event/fashioninstyle/en
– HK Intl’ Printing & Packaging Fair: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkprintpackfair/en
– HK Intl’ Licensing Show: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hklicensingshow/en
– Asian Licensing Conference: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hklicensingshow/en
– Photo download: https://bit.ly/40UVl5f
About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn
Media enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC’s Communications and Public Affairs Department:
Snowy Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4525, Email: snowy.sn.chan@hktdc.org
Hong Kong International Licensing Show and Asian Licensing Conference
Kate Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4239, Email: kate.hy.chan@hktdc.org
Frankie Leung, Tel: +852 2584 4298, Email: frankie.cy.leung@hktdc.org
Sunshine Insurance Announces 2022 Annual Results
- Focus on Insurance as the Primary Responsibilities and Core Businesses and Adhere to Value Development for Releasing the Potential of Long-Term Investment
Sunshine Insurance Group Company Limited (Sunshine Insurance or The Group; SEHK HKG: 6963) is pleased to announce the annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022 (the Reporting Period).
2022 Annual Results Highlights:
- Revenue increased by 7.2% YoY to RMB128.58 billion, in particular, total income increased by 6.9% YoY to RMB108.74 billion;
- FYRPs of Sunshine Life increased by 9.3% YoY to RMB14.75 billion;
- The value of one year’s new business was RMB3.02 billion, realising positive YoY growth;
- Premiums of Sunshine P&C reached RMB40.38 billion, realising underwriting profits;
- Net profit attributable to equity owners of the parent reached RMB4.88 billion;
- Embedded value increased by 8.0% to RMB101.27 billion.
The year 2022 was a very unusual and extraordinary year. Facing with the stormy international environment as well as the difficult and heavy task of stable reform and development in China, and under the times of coexistence of both opportunities and challenges, the Group responded to the times and the challenges, insisted on the development concept of “Prioritize Stability, Prioritize Good”, cultivated new opportunities in the crisis and opened up new situation in the changes, focused on insurance as the core business and strove to value development, provided momentum for business development through innovation and successfully achieved all business targets.
Focus on Insurance as the Core Business to Write a New Chapter of High-quality Development
As a fast-growing insurance enterprise in China, the Group has never forgotten its original intention, and adhered to its mission of “bring more sunshine to people”, assuming the role of economic “shock absorber” and social “stabilizer”. In 2022, the Group focused on insurance as the core business, fully balanced insurance business, made steady growth in overall operating results and continuously enhanced its capability for value creation. The total income increased by 7.2% YoY to RMB128.58 billion, embedded value increased by 8.0% to RMB101.27 billion and net profit attributable to equity owners of the parent reached RMB4.88 billion.
For life insurance, in 2022, with the volatile global economic environment, the transformation of insurance industry was experiencing challenges. In this regard, Sunshine Life persisted in striving to create value and actively explored new ideas for development based on its profound understanding of the market environment and changes in customer demand. Through the insight of customer demand, team transformation and upgrading, product system improvement, service system construction, digital innovation and other measures, the Company continuously promoted the high-quality and healthy development. During the Reporting Period, our GWPs was RMB68.30 billion, increased by 12.3% year on year; The value of one year’s new business was RMB3.02 billion, achieving a rare positive growth in the industry.
For property and casualty insurance, the Group mainly provided property and casualty insurance products and services through Sunshine P&C. During the year, Sunshine P&C enhanced profitability capacity, optimized business structure, and further consolidated the foundation of high-quality development. During the Reporting Period, Sunshine P&C achieved anet profit of approximately RMB1.6 Billion, with loss ratio of 65.0%, and expense ratio of 34.9% according to the data. In the whole year, the OPI was RMB 40.38 billion.
Practice Value Development to Demonstrate Long-term Investment Value
In addition to focusing on insurance as the main responsibility and core business, the Group has also persisted in practicing value development, focused on asset-liability management while improving customer operation capabilities, and built a solid development moat for consolidating its own industry position. According to the result report, in 2022, the Group achieved a total investment yield of RMB20.13 billion, increased by 5.4% year on year; The total investment yield was 5.0%. The Group has also continuously improved its comprehensive investment management capability and customer service level among multiple assets, strategies and customers, and the asset management scale of third party reached RMB414.98 billion, increasing by 21.4% year on year.
In terms of customer operation, Sunshine Life adopted a customer-oriented business model and implemented a “Two-Dimensional Plan” around the whole life cycle of customer’s family, and constantly improved the construction of “Insurance plus Service” products and ecological service system. By the end of 2022, the number of effective customers of Sunshine Life had reached 14.95 million; Sunshine P&C continued to deepen the insight research of customer demand, steadily promoted the implementation of “Partner Action”, and helped corporate customers achieve risk reduction and value improvement. In 2022, it provided scientific disaster mitigation and professional risk consulting services to more than 4,300 important corporate customers. By the end of 2022, the number of effective customers of Sunshine P&C reached 18.72 million.
Under the background of focusing on the main business of insurance, the market share of both life and health insurance and property and casualty insurance being at the top and adhering to value development, the Group’s intrinsic value is expected to receive long-term attention from the market with the subsequent growth in performance, and its operational resilience and long-term investment value will fully emerge. Recently, securities dealers, such as CICC, Huatai and Soochow, have released in-depth analysis research reports on Sunshine Insurance (06963.HK), rating the Group as “Outperform” and “Buy”, etc. It is expected that the Group’s target stock price in 2023 still has more than 25% upside compared with the current price, and its long-term investment value is highly recognized by the industry.
Driven by “Entrepreneurship Gene + Culture Guidance” to Build Strong Comprehensive Strength
Sunshine Insurance has maintained a good growth momentum. The internal energy brought by the company’s development focus of “sticking to the main business and pursuing value” comes from the company’s unique, solid, systematic and complete Sunshine culture, and the source of Sunshine Insurance culture from its original entrepreneurial gene. As an entrepreneurship-driven company, Zhang Weigong, the founder of Sunshine Insurance, led his entrepreneurial team to visit 17 provinces and cities in China, visited and negotiated with 389 companies, and identified shareholders who shared the same vision and then founded Sunshine Insurance in a market-oriented way. The entrepreneurial spirit of “Challenge and Persevere” formed during the start-up period of Sunshine Insurance, laid the foundation for its continuous development and growth in the future. Meanwhile, Sunshine Insurance insists on “Cultural Governance”. From the entrepreneurial spirit to the core culture of “Sunshine Way” formed before the company opened, to today’s systematic and complete Sunshine cultural system, it has become the internal driving force for Sunshine’s development. The company’s core values have been established. Penetrating into all aspects of management, so that the company always has the core competitiveness in the fierce market competition.
It is worth mentioning that, with the support of the “Entrepreneurship Gene + Culture Guidance”, Sunshine Insurance remained true to its social responsibility and commitment, served the real economy and practiced sustainable development through concrete actions. In 2022, Sunshine Insurance provided risk coverage of RMB44.5 trillion, RMB82.2 billion and over RMB170 billion for the real economy, the Belt and Road projects as well as 12,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises respectively. It helped small and medium-sized enterprises finance RMB14.5 billion. Additionally, the Group provided green insurance coverage of RMB60,000 billion for 16.35 million enterprises and individuals. By the end of 2022, sustainable investment balance amounted to RMB42.72 billion.
The year 2023 is the opening year for the full implementation of the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the construction of Chinese modernization. In the future, Sunshine Insurance will adhere to its main business and focus on its main responsibilities, identify its own development direction while serving Chinese modernization, and realize the scale effect so as to obtain stable growth. At the same time, Sunshine Insurance will continue to follow the trend of digital transformation of the financial industry, seize the opportunities of empowering innovation in various fields, usher in broader development margin in the wave of insurance industry changes, and continue to advance towards the goal of building a high-value insurance group oriented to the needs of customers.
About Sunshine Insurance Group Company Limited
Sunshine Insurance Group Company Limited is a fast-growing private insurance service group in China. Since its establishment, the Group has focused on value creation and been committed to providing customers with professional risk coverage and integrated service solutions. The Group carries out life and health insurance business through Sunshine Life, property and casualty insurance business through Sunshine P&C, and manages insurance funds through Sunshine AMC. As of December 31, 2022, the Group has been ranked among the top 500 Chinese enterprises by the China Enterprise Confederation for 12 consecutive years and has been entitled as one of the “Top 500 Valuable Brands in China” by the World Brand Lab for 11 consecutive years.
Expand Investment in Science and Technology and Empower Industry Development, Legend Holdings Realized Revenue of RMB483.7 billion by 2022
Legend Holdings Corporation (HKG: 3396) announced its audited annual results for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the Reporting Period) on March 31, 2023. During the Reporting Period, Legend Holdings achieved revenue of RMB483.7 billion and net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company of RMB1.167 billion.
In 2022, uncertainties in the international situation continued to increase, including rising global inflation and significant volatility in international financial markets and commodity markets, which also had a significant impact on the Company’s performance. The industrial incubations and investments segment successfully promoted the listing of over 60 enterprises in the last three years, among the best in the industry. However, as these investments were measured at fair value, the segment’s performance was affected by the volatility of the capital market; in addition, Joyvio Group made a provision for goodwill and asset impairment in 2022 year due to factors such as rising operating costs caused by the increase in raw material prices and the interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Facing the challenges, the company carefully studied the layout and solidly promoted its strategy to strengthen its competitive ability while stabilizing its fundamentals and ensuring sustainable profitability.
Mr. Li Peng, Executive Director and CEO of Legend Holdings, said that during the reporting period, the company’s performance recorded a considerable decrease, but the company insisted on the goal of achieving high-quality development, with “industrial operation and technological innovation” as the core of its long-term development strategy. The company’s fundamentals are sound, and certain enterprises in the industrial operations and incubations & investments sectors have good long-term growth potential. The main task now is to further strengthen the existing business foundation and enhance industrial competitiveness, while actively adjusting the business portfolio and optimizing the business model to improve shareholders’ returns. During the reporting period, the industrial operations segment overcame various unfavorable factors and continued to promote management improvement and operation enhancement; the industrial incubations and investments segment focused on national key fields, supporting independent innovation and industrial chain upgrades, promoting the development of specialized and innovative enterprises, and linking economic chains in line with the dual circulation strategy. At the same time, the company continued to increase investment in scientific research and frontier layout, grasp green opportunities, promote energy saving and carbon reduction, and make positive progress in various businesses.
Driven by Technological Innovation, Continuously Expand R&D Investment in Frontier Technologies
In the current context of China’s implementation of science and technology innovation to lead high-quality development, Legend Holdings grasps the opportunities of the times and has been constantly improving its enterprise-led innovation system based on partnership among industry, academia and research institutes, and shaping a collaborative and efficient innovation pattern with specialized and innovative enterprises to promote the sustainable development of the enterprises.
In 2022, R&D expenses within the Legend Holdings system increased 21% year-on-year to RMB15.3 billion, with total R&D expenses of RMB37.8 billion in the past three years, representing a compound annual growth rate of 27%, with over 20,000 licensed patents, maintaining a leading position among large Chinese enterprises. Lenovo Group boosted its R&D investment by 21% year-on-year and has nine labs including artificial intelligence and enterprise cloud computing. The investment in R&D of Levima Advanced Materials increased by 21% year-on-year, and applied for 53 patents and obtained 58 granted patents during the reporting period. It focused on investment in the layout of high-end new materials, and achieved a breakthrough in the domestic production of electronic-grade hydrogen chloride and chlorine products after taking the lead in achieving the local substitution of photovoltaic film materials. The “20,000 tons/year UHMWPE (Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene) project” is expected to be put into operation in mid-2023, with the aim of reducing the UHMWPE import over-dependence. Fullhan Microelectronics’ R&D investment increased by 20% year-on-year, mainly in chip R&D field, with R&D staff comprising 85% of its workforce.
At the same time, Legend Holdings also promoted its funds to closely follow China’s national industrial plans and policy guidance and to intensively invest in national strategic industries, such as next-generation information technology, chips, new energy, new materials and AI. In 2022, the funds invested in almost 150 technology companies, and a total of 95 have been selected for the national list of specialized and innovative enterprises.
In the future, Legend Holdings will further focus on technological innovation when exploring new industrial areas and allocating resources, and will make long-term commitments in selected industries. The Company has set up the innovation and development center and planned to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with top universities and international institutions on early-stage technologies in key innovation areas.
Solidly Consolidate the Real Industry and Take Measures to Enhance the Quality and Efficiency of Real Economy
In 2022, Legend Holdings consolidated its business fundamentals, and withstood external challenges through management improvements and operational enhancements to ensure the steady progress of all businesses.
In the industrial operations segment, Lenovo Group continued to top the global PC business and was the world’s No. 1 supercomputing maker, while at the same time, it fully promoted the transformation of its business to intelligent services, with the revenue share of non-PC business exceeding 40%. Among them, the Infrastructure Solutions Group has achieved rapid growth by grasping the trend of accelerated transformation of the global digital economy and the opportunity of the new computing revolution; the Solutions & Services Group, as the core business of digital and smart transformation, continues to maintain growth momentum.
Levima Advanced Materials maintained its leading edge in the new materials niche market, and expanded into new business areas to seize the opportunity of green development. During the Reporting Period, it completed the technical upgrade and capacity expansion of its EVA devices to further enhance operational efficiency, and several key projects were progressing ahead on track. The project covering lithium battery electrolyte materials completed its interim delivery and is about to be put into operation. Levima also entered the field of electronic materials by investing in electronic specialty gas. Construction of projects covering new energy materials for battery and biodegradable materials are progressing into the construction phase. The “New Energy Materials and Biodegradable Materials Integration Project” has obtained approval and is now under construction in an orderly manner.
Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (“BIL”) has responded well to the challenges of the European economy and achieved good growth in all business indicators, while continuing to vigorously promote its business in China, helping Chinese enterprises issue overseas green bonds and contributing to the development of green finance; the bank’s CET-1 ratio was 13.35% and its international credit ratings remained high. Joyvio Group’s fruit business continued to reinforce its vertically integrated supply chain and core product strategy, and stepped up the development of new e-commerce retail channels.
On the other hand, a number of companies in the industrial incubations and investments segment have maintained their leading positions and steady development in their respective industries.
At the same time, Legend Holdings is also committed to promoting its portfolio companies to give full play to their advantages to empower the real economy.
Lenovo has been named to Gartner’s Global Top 25 Supply Chain ranking for eight consecutive years and was the only Asia-Pacific high-tech manufacturer on the list, with more than 850 manufacturing suppliers, promoting mutual development with SMEs along the industrial chain. In 2022, its manufacturing bases in Tianjin and Shenzhen commenced operations, and its Hefei base was recognized as a “lighthouse” factory by the World Economic Forum. Its new IT solutions to intelligent transformation were successfully deployed by nearly 1,000 companies across various sectors.
Promote Green Development, Help Rural Revitalization and Increase Investment in Public Welfare of Science and Technology
As a company growing up under the system of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Legend Holdings has been actively focusing on public welfare investment in the field of science and technology. In 2022, the company entered into a donation agreement with University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Education Foundation (UCASEF) to donate RMB60 million to set up the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project Fund of Legend Holdings, specifically for nurturing of the talents and basic researches in the fields of information technology, artificial intelligence, new materials and biotechnology of UCAS. Legend Capital has also set up the ” Legend Capital Scholars Program” to help the construction of China’s innovative talents; Lenovo Group has reached cooperation with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University and initiated donations to help the cultivation of R&D talents in universities.
Rural revitalization is an important part of Legend Holdings’ corporate social responsibility. In terms of industry, the company has cooperated with the China Women’s Development Foundation since 2018 to help women from low-income rural families to start businesses with local features through the “Revolving Fund for Mothers Project”, helping the local community to move towards the development path of quality-boosting agriculture, green-boosting agriculture and benefit-first. In terms of talents, the company has established Legend Holdings Rural Education Fund since 2004 to focus on rural education on an ongoing basis, helping students with limited family financial conditions realize their dreams of attending university.
The company continued to promote the focus on green and low-carbon development within the system, in active respond to the carbon peak and carbon neutrality strategy of the country. Lenovo is the first domestic high-tech manufacturer to pass the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) net-zero target validation, its Wuhan manufacturing base obtained the ICT industry’s first zero-carbon factory certificate, while its Tianjin industrial park completed a pilot project that met the ICT industry’s zero-carbon factory standard. As the “National Green Factory”, Levima Advanced Materials has improved self-sufficiency in terms of core raw materials in the photovoltaic industry, and landed its new biodegradable material PPC project. In addition, a number of portfolio companies of Legend Holdings have also helped to achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality through green finance.
In addition, the public welfare program “Legend Star Entrepreneurial CEO Training Course” established by the company in 2008 has trained more than 1,000 innovative and entrepreneurial talents, and 50 of the enterprises founded by the trainees have been successfully listed and 73 have been selected as national specialized and innovative enterprises.
Grasping the opportunities of the times and working hard to make contributions to high-quality development
In 2023, Legend Holdings will continue to actively improve asset quality and solidify business fundamentals through substantive investment management and services. Focusing on the long-term development, it will improve the business to position it for steady growth. In the industrial incubations and investments segment, technological innovation remains a key area. While safeguarding against potential volatility in the capital markets, the company will be creative and strive to discover new values. At the same time, the company will also take a positive attitude and innovative approaches to further adjust its business portfolio, realize returns, and find new opportunities for strategic layout, especially in the field of science and technology innovation. Meanwhile, it will further optimize the organization development, increase the introduction of scientific and technological talents, and improve and enhance the human resource structure.
Despite the evolving international situation, China’s long-term positive fundamentals will not change, and Legend Holdings’ prospects are promising in deploying the country’s major strategic initiatives. The company will closely follow the national strategy of achieving high-quality development driven by technological innovation, carry out “Industrial operations and technological innovation”, and continue to fulfill the corporate social responsibility at a strategic level, advancing the ESG work in the system.
Mr. Ning Min, Chairman and Executive Director of Legend Holdings, said that in 2022, facing the great uncertainties and challenges brought about by global changes, Legend Holdings, while consolidating its business fundamentals, insisted on strengthening investments in science and technology innovation and promoting the development of real economy, to overcome difficulties with toughness and ride out the storm, further consolidating the foundation for long-term corporate development. 2023 is the opening year of the comprehensive implementation of the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. With the successful convening of the Central Economic Work Conference and the gradual emergence of the effects of various policies, China’s economy once again is enjoying a broader space for development. Legend Holdings will work together to seize the opportunity, continue to give full play to the enthusiasm and creativity of all employees, adhere to innovation orientation, promote industrial upgrading, work hard, actively participate in the overall high-quality national development, and continuously contribute to the construction of Chinese path to modernization.
CMGE Shares Jump Following 2022 Results Announcement; R&D investment increased 69.5%
2022 was a challenging year for the game industry. Due to the pandemic and gaming regulations, the gaming industry experienced a reduction in both revenue and user scale. In the context of pervasive uncertainties and low expectations, the market has focused on gaming company plans and financial reports.
According to the latest financial report published by CMGE Technology Group Ltd (0302.HK), operating revenue in 2022 was RMB 2,714 million, a year-on-year decrease of 31.4%, with a net loss of RMB 217 million. However, on the day after the financial report was released, CMGE’s share price jumped and closed with a one-day increase of 8.78%.
The financial report from CMGE shows that the industry continues to be affected by external factors from previous years, according to analysts. But CMGE’s share price bucked that trend, which demonstrates new confidence stemming from the financial report and anticipated business performance.
- Strong operating revenue, with an increase of 69.5% in R&D investment
CMGE earned RMB 2,114 million from its game publishing business, RMB 453 million from its game development, and RMB 147 million from its IP licensing business. In addition, CMGE achieved a gross profit rate of 41.0%, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%, demonstrating the high profitability of its core businesses.
Mr. SIN Hendrick, Executive Director and Vice Chairman of CMGE, explained at the performance meeting that the loss of profits resulted from CMGE’s provision of investment impairment and other non-operating expenses of RMB193 million from companies in which CMGE invests. In addition, CMGE’s provision of non-operating financial and contractual asset impairments of RMB 137 million was also a factor. If non-operating impairment and other non-operating expenses were not included in financial accounting, CMGE would have achieved profits from its operations in 2022. According to analysts the provision of impairment is based on the prudence principle of accounting and impacts financial results on a one-time basis.
In response to uncertain external factors, gaming companies have focused on cost reductions and efficiency improvements in recent years. CMGE has long been engaged in R&D and continuously increasing investment in this area, while reducing unnecessary costs and improving its gross profit. According to the financial report, CMGE invested RMB 527 million in R&D in 2022, a record year-on-year increase of 69.5%. Meanwhile, R&D personnel reached 650 employees, accounting for 55.8% of CMGE’s total staff.
Supported by continuous investment, CMGE has fully implemented its strategy for independent development of quality products, ensuring supplies of such products and laying a solid foundation for the start of its second growth curve. Furthermore, the results achieved by CMGE in game development in 2022 show the company’s strong ability to independently develop quality games.
In the first month after its launch in the domestic market, “The King of Fighters: All Stars”, a 3D mobile game independently developed and distributed by CMGE, stood at the top of the free games ranking in Chinese mainland’s Apple App Store. As of December 31, 2022, “Legend of Sword and Fairy 7”, developed and launched by CMGE in the second half of 2021, had seen total sales of more than 510,000 PC units, 210,000 cloud-based units, and 70,000 host units.
Meanwhile, subject to continuous optimization and meticulous management, “The World of Legend – Thunder Empire” and “Legend of Dragon City” and other existing games have been generating recurring income and profit for CMGE as well.
Through developing and maintaining games with strong IP components, CMGE is clearly seeking greater possibilities in global markets.
- Three-year R&D efforts are expected to produce superior results
Xiao Jian, Executive Director, Chairman and CEO of CMGE, said at the performance meeting, “CMGE is making every effort to build the first Chinese-style metaverse-style game with open elements in China – a ‘Chinese Paladin: Sword and Fairy World’. We will launch its conceptual PV on April 20 and its real PV on April 27, and implement initial testing around late May and early June this year.”
“Sword and Fairy World” was developed for Chinese fans of the franchise by Starry Sky Studio under CMGE based on Chinese Paladin IP. By introducing the model of ‘game, entertainment, community, consumption’ the game will offer a real-virtual open world for creation and sharing by players. To create Sword and Fairy World a specialized R&D team at CMGE has spent three years and invested heavily to develop such a game independently.
Industry insiders agree that “Sword and Fairy World” is a hotly anticipated game from CMGE for players and investors alike as it boasts major features of a long-term popular gaming brand.
Firstly, developed based on CMGE’s Legend of Sword and Fairy IP, the game is naturally expected to be well received by players. According to data, that game has more than 600 million users in China and elsewhere around the world.
Secondly, it is an immersive mythology-based game developed by CMGE after three years of R&D. With eight major technological innovations such as 24-hour lighting, a dynamic weather system, real water flow effects, non-player character (NPC) AI, open world technology, simultaneous online capacity for millions of users, high-definition modeling, multi-dimensional facial graphics, as well as UGC creation tools, it opens a Chinese Paladin world, filling a key gap in this sector. As one of the first partners of ERNIE Bot, CMGE uses AIGC technology for intelligent NPC interaction, marketing, script creation and art production for game R&D, which reduces costs and improves efficiency.
Thirdly, “Sword and Fairy World” focuses on open elements while introducing the latest metaverse elements. In the game, the Chinese Paladin Metaverse provides experiences such as UGC creation, leisure, social entertainment, and virtual performances. “Chinese Paladin: The World” engages players in the construction and development of this metaverse that is independent from the real world.
2023 will mark a milestone for CMGE. With the normalized distribution of games under regulatory supervision, CMGE will release its new products to the market step by step. Since obtaining authorization from gaming authorities, several mobile games, including “Cultivation Fantasy” and “Sword and Fairy: Wen Qing” are scheduled for release in the first half of 2023. More importantly, the launch of CMGE’s self-developed game, “Sword and Fairy World” is expected to support future sustainable growth and further improve the company’s performance.
In terms of the long-term significance of “Sword and Fairy World”, CMGE wishes to implement the concept of ‘Games as Platforms’. The company also expects to achieve its strategic vision of incorporating IP-based game ecosystems with own well-known IP brand and the Chinese Paladin Metaverse platform, while building itself into an outstanding gaming company with sustainable growth and popular products.
Focusing on player-centered services and quality products, CMGE is comprehensively developing its own IP-related business and striving to create new areas of growth. As Xiao Jian said, “As long as we concentrate on product development and player services, results will surely be achieved.”
For further information, please contact:
PEANUT MEDIA LIMITED
Direct Line: +86-755-61619798 x8210
Email: hswh.project@czgmcn.com
A Detailed Look at Fosun International’s Annual Results: Create Space to Concentrate on Core Businesses in 2022, Poised for Rebound in 2023
After a year of ups and downs, can Fosun spark a new round of growth by continuing its strategy of “streamlining the organization and focusing on core businesses”? Fosun International released its 2022 annual results on 29 March, revealing some clear signals.
Fosun International reported both growth and declines in its annual results announcement. The total revenue for the year was RMB175.39 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.7%; the net profit attributable to owners of the parent was RMB0.54 billion as compared to RMB10.08 billion in the same period of 2021. The sharp decline in net profit attributable to owners of the parent was mainly due to the recurrent outbreak of COVID19 pandemic in 2022 and the turmoil and downturn of the international capital markets, resulting in high business costs and an increase in floating losses in secondary capital market investment. By sorting out data such as balance sheets, cash flow statements, asset disposals, and business changes, it is clear that the “transient” impact of the pandemic fades away, Fosun, which has accelerated its focus on core businesses in the household consumption sector, is poised to usher in a new round of growth.
Complementing the financial figures, Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun International, published a Letter to Shareholders on 29 March. In the letter, Guo Guangchang candidly responded to questions such as debt, business, and strategy that investors are highly concerned about.
“This year, the Company decided to further ‘streamline the organization’, focusing on businesses in the household consumption sector and devoting the limited resources to industries with growth potential.” Guo Guangchang said in the letter, “changes in economic and social development and the birth of emerging technologies will definitely have an impact on consumers’ choices, and consumption sentiment usually depends on the individual’s confidence in income, economic growth and the consumption environment. However, I believe that people’s aspirations for a better life and the fundamentals of China’s long-term sound economic growth will remain unchanged. Therefore, we remain committed to our vision of bringing healthier, happier, and wealthier lives to families worldwide.”
Fosun International significantly eases its debt pressure with a cash inflow of nearly RMB30.0 billion from divestment during the period
Both the results announcement and the Letter to Shareholders disclosed on 29 March indicated that the impact of the domestic pandemic and fluctuations in the global capital market in 2022 brought great challenges to Fosun International’s financial structure. Coupled with the disturbance of market rumors, Fosun’s debt issue was once questioned.
In response to the challenges of external force majeure factors, Fosun has adopted “multiple measures to optimize its funds and capital structure” since the second half of last year.
First of all, Fosun has stepped up its efforts in the divestment of non-strategic and non-core assets to consolidate its liquidity cushion. The results announcement showed that the divestment at the group level was far greater than the investment in 2022. The amount based on the consideration set out in the disposal agreements exceeded RMB40.0 billion, bringing a cash inflow of nearly RMB30.0 billion at holding company level.
Fosun’s divestment of assets in 2022 included the systematic divestment of the iron and steel asset, the transfer of partial equity interests in Yong An Insurance, and the sale of all equity interests or substantial reduction of shareholding in Tsingtao Brewery, Zhaojin Mining, Zhongshan Public Utilities, etc.
While stepping up its efforts in the divestment of non-strategic and non-core assets, Fosun has also made continuous efforts in financing. In 2022, the Group completed syndicated loans of US$875 million and RMB1.66 billion, completed the issuance and resale of domestic bonds equivalent to RMB10.2 billion, and redeemed several offshore bonds in advance.
In 2023, Fosun successfully obtained a loan of RMB12.0 billion from a domestic syndicate, which was the largest private corporate loan led by five major state-owned banks in cooperation with policy banks and joint-stock banks since the announcement of “encouraging and supporting the development of the private economy and private enterprises” at the Central Economic Working Conference held in December 2022.
According to outside commentators, this move reflects the confidence of financial institutions, especially state-owned commercial banks, in Fosun’s capital and business strategies, and further reduces Fosun’s reliance on public market financing, increasing its risk tolerance to cope with fluctuations in the international capital market.
Through the above-mentioned series of actions, Fosun has established a satisfactory risk tolerance strategy. Its ratio of total debt to total capital was 53.2%, down 3.6 percentage points from mid-2022; the average cost of debt was at a low level of 4.7%; the adjusted NAV was HK$21.6 per share; the duration of existing interest-bearing debt has also been extended to more than two years. As of the end of the Reporting Period, cash and bank balances and time deposits were relatively abundant, amounting to RMB100.56 billion.
It is worth noting that the above-mentioned liability figures are still based on the consolidated statement at the group level. If the liabilities of its consolidated listed subsidiaries such as Yuyuan, Fosun Pharma, and Fosun Tourism Group (FTG) are excluded, the actual decline in liabilities attributable to Fosun International is even greater.
Analysts believe that based on the financial figures for 2022, it is evident that Fosun’s debt structure has been further optimized in the past six-plus months, and it has remained at a relatively healthy level as a whole, while the quality of assets has been greatly improved during the same period. As a result, its adjusted NAV remained solid at HK$21.6 per share.
“In the future, Fosun will continue to prioritize ‘sustainable growth’. As the external environment is gradually picking up, I believe that Fosun has survived the most difficult time. In the future, we will continue to achieve sustainable growth,” Guo Guangchang said in the Letter to Shareholders.
Businesses in consumer and tourism sectors see robust rebound as “one-off” impact fades away
Due to the impact of the pandemic, especially the violent fluctuations in the global capital market, Fosun International’s net profit attributable to owners of the parent was greatly affected. Its annual results announcement indicated that, the Group’s net profit attributable to owners of the parent fell 94.7% year-on-year to RMB0.54 billion in 2022.
However, it is a total different story if we take a closer look at Fosun International’s total revenue.
Against the backdrop of a complex macroeconomic environment in 2022, Fosun’s total revenue still maintained growth, reaching RMB175.39 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. Focusing on the needs of global families for health, happiness, and wealth, the four core subsidiaries, namely Yuyuan, Fosun Pharma, Fosun Insurance Portugal, and FTG contributed 72% of the Group’s total revenue.
Market analysts believe that the sharp decline in profits is mainly resulted from the “one-off” impact caused by external force majeure factors in 2022. Once the force majeure factors are gone, the “one-off” impact will also fade away. In 2023, Fosun’s core businesses in the household consumption sector may usher in an important period of opportunity for rebound, and its forward-looking layout in the anti-epidemic field will gradually yield results. It is worth noting Fosun’s rebound following a period of strategic deployment.
In fact, since the beginning of 2023, Fosun’s businesses in consumer and tourism sectors have shown a remarkable upward trend. In 2023, the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival, which received wide recognition in Chinese mainland and overseas, attracted more than 4 million visits, effectively driving consumption in the area. Fosun’s tourism business has rebounded rapidly, the occupancy rate of Atlantis Sanya, a subsidiary of FTG, has fully recovered and surpassed the level before the pandemic, recording a business volume of RMB399 million, representing an increase of 10% over the same period in 2022, the average room occupancy rate reached 96%; the business volume of Club Med increased by 55% compared to the same period in 2022; the business volume of FOLIDAY Town Lijiang increased by 149% compared to the same period in 2022.
It is worth noting that FTG has demonstrated a robust momentum of recovery since the second half of 2022. Its annual results announced on 26 March showed that the business volume of tourism operations in 2022 increased by 85% year-on-year relative to the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA turned positive by a notable extent, up from RMB213 million in 2021 to RMB2,345 million in 2022. Loss attributable to equity holders narrowed significantly from RMB2,719 million in 2021 to RMB545 million in 2022. Among them, the business volume of Club Med reached RMB12,011 million in 2022, representing a year-on-year surge of 108%.
Growth momentum: twin drivers of global operations and technology innovation
In the Letter to Shareholders, Guo Guangchang said, “In 2022, Fosun divested some non-core assets and further focused on core businesses in the household consumption sector, which has created space and built momentum for future business rebound and rapid development.” Global operations and innovation are the two driving forces for future endogenous growth.
According to the annual results announcement, Fosun has established businesses in more than 35 countries and regions (based enterprises with revenue exceeding RMB 100 million in such year) during the year. In 2022, Fosun’s global operations capabilities has been further improved, and its overseas revenue amounted to RMB77.4 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 14% and accounting for 44% of its total revenue. As of the end of the Reporting Period, it had 43 overseas brand enterprises with more than 45,000 overseas employees.
Guo Guangchang set the year 2022 as a new starting point for the third stage of Fosun’s globalization to foster cross-regional, cross-cultural, and cross-organizational operation capabilities of Fosun’s global business ecosystem through “global organization + local operations”, thereby providing new impetus for the improvement and expansion of Fosun’s industry operations.
Taking Lanvin, a French couture house, as an example, after joining Fosun, Lanvin has maintained robust growth. On 15 December 2022, Lanvin Group was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LANV. In 2022, Lanvin Group achieved an unaudited revenue of EUR425 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 38%, of which the revenue of its flagship brand Lanvin increased by 67% year-on-year. Lanvin Group became one of the fastest growing companies in the global luxury goods industry.
While its global operations capabilities continue to improve, Fosun is gradually ushering the harvest period after years of dedication and continuous investment in technology innovation.
Taking Shanghai Henlius’ self-developed HANSIZHUANG as an example, since its launch in March 2022, it has been approved in China for the treatment of three indications and has become the world’s first anti-PD-1 mAb approved for the first-line treatment of small cell lung cancer. Since its launch nine months ago, it has generated a revenue of RMB300 million.
The annual results announcement showed that, Fosun’s R&D investment reached RMB10.4 billion in 2022, representing a year-on-year increase of 17%; as of the end of 2022, it had a total of 1,771 patents for intention.
“Both business and economy have cycles, and innovation is our core capability to win out. In between the ups and downs of the cycle, we must step up investment in innovation. Looking ahead in 2023, we will continue to increase investment in innovation to ensure that innovation is driving growth continuously and efficiently,” Guo Guangchang said.
Universal Medical (2666.HK) Announces 2022 Annual Results
- Revenues increase by 20.2%, Net Profit jumps 48% YoY
Genertec Universal Medical Group Company Limited (Universal Medical or Company; HKG: 2666) is pleased to announce annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022.
In 2022, Universal Medical adhered to the “Healthy China” strategy and continued to expand its footprint in the healthcare sector. The continuous improvement in the core capacity of the hospital group, the gradual perfection of and breakthroughs in the footprint expansion of the specialty business and the health conglomerate’s units, and the smooth and stable development of the finance business all contributed to the realization of the vision “To Be the Most Trusted Global Leader in Medical & Healthcare Services”.
In 2022, the Company recorded a revenue of RMB11,912.1 million in total, up by 20.2% as compared to the previous year. In particular, the hospital group business recorded a revenue of RMB6,211.2 million, up by 34.8% as compared to the previous year, with its proportion to the total revenue increased to 52.1%; the Company recorded a profit for the year of RMB2,087.5 million, up by 2.8% as compared to the previous year, of which, the hospital group business contributed RMB378.3 million, up by 48.0% as compared to the previous year; the Company recorded a profit attributable to owners of the parent of RMB1,890.0 million, up by 3.0% as compared to the previous year; and the Company recorded a return on total assets (ROA) of 2.84% and a return on equity attributable to ordinary shareholders (ROE) of 13.96%. The indicators of income and the assets conditions maintained a steady and excellent performance.
- Central State-Owned Enterprises Improved Core Competitiveness, and the Net Profit Margin of The Medical Institutions Increased by 0.42 Percent
The medical institutions are not only the Company’s core resources to build a healthcare conglomerate, but also the R&D and training center of its specialized medical business, as well as the project cultivation and commercialization pool and the sharing center for basic resources and practice of the industrial units. With respect to the integrated healthcare service segment, focusing on the development of the hospital group’s core capacity, the Company continuously build up the competition advantages of central state-owned enterprises in running medical care by reinforcing group management and control and upgrading professional operation, so as to facilitate positive and continuous development of the state-owned hospitals and constantly improve operation efficiency and effectiveness.
In 2022, the consolidated Hospitals of SOEs contributed to the Company a revenue of RMB6,022.9 million, up by 37.2% as compared to the previous year; they recorded a profit for the year of RMB290.3 million in total, up by 50.2% as compared to the previous year; and the net profit margin was 4.82%, up by 0.42 percentage point from 4.40% of the previous year.
In 2022, the Company consolidated the accounts of seven additional medical institutions with a capacity of 3,357 beds in total; and the number of consolidated medical institutions as at 31 December 2022 increased to 55 (including 4 Grade III Class A hospitals and 26 Grade II hospitals), with a capacity of 13,615 beds in total. The number of beds of medical institutions that were included within the management system but not yet consolidated was over 2,000. The currently planned number of internally built beds exceeded 4,000 in total. In the future, based on the existing operation scale, the Company will continue to expand the scale of the hospital group through internal construction and mergers and acquisitions of/cooperation with external hospitals.
- Specialties and Healthcare Industry Created New Growth Drivers for the Listed Company with Solid Steps
With the business foundation and professional core talent team of its own hospital group, the Company strived to build replicable capabilities of specialties and industry operation while serving internal quality and efficiency enhancement, so as to create new growth drivers for the listed company. The financial contribution of this new business segment mainly comes from providing hospital clients with life cycle management of medical equipment and medical devises sales, which recorded a total revenue of RMB83.8 million in 2022 and a total profit of RMB8.6 million for the year.
Over the past year, the Company took solid steps in constructions of featured specialties such as nephrology and oncology as well as building core capabilities of the life cycle management of equipment. In addition, the Company has made various progress in the business layout of disciplines such as TCM, ophthalmology, stomatology as well as healthcare industry including Internet-based healthcare and health insurance.
As a listed company in the field of medical and healthcare, the Company strives to develop into a medical and healthcare conglomerate with financial service capabilities, featured specialty services and differentiated industrial business advantages, and gradually unleashes the value of its various business segments and assets. Looking forward, the Company will rely on the development foundation of the hospital group, and continue to build the industrial development foundation and team capabilities, with an aim to create more high-value profitable segments for the listed company while serving its member hospitals to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
- Finance Business Expanded Steadily and Earnings and Asset Quality Indicators Remained Excellent
As the continuous profit contributor of the Company, the finance business will always strive to maintain healthy and steady development while ensuring asset security, laying a solid foundation and cash cow for the sustainable development of the Company.
In 2022, faced with the complex economic situation, the Company always took risk control as a top priority, and were committed to ensuring quality project development for its customers. By keeping abreast of the market changes, the Company strived to arrange financing structure properly, so as to ensure liquidity security and reasonable financing cost control. The Company continued to optimise the dynamic management of pre-rental, rental, and post-rental process, and enhanced accountability to ensure its asset quality remaining at an industry-leading level while maintaining continuous and steady business expansion.
In 2022, the Company recorded income of finance business of RMB5,721.2 million in total, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.8%. The average yield of interest-earning assets was 7.22%, and the average cost rate of interest-bearing liabilities was 3.98%. The net interest spread was 3.24%, and the net interest margin was 3.67%. Its asset quality continued to remain excellent. As at 31 December 2022, the Company’s net interest-earning assets reached RMB65,233.8 million, representing an increase of 6.7% as compared to that at the beginning of the year; the non-performing asset ratio was 0.99%; the overdue ratio (30 days) was 0.86%, and the provision coverage ratio was 263.11%.
Given that the domestic and international economy and financial markets continue to be confronted with many risks, challenges and uncertainties, Universal Medical will continue to promote the steady and safe development of its finance business, and give full play to the finance business to empower the development of the medical care industry, so as to lay a solid foundation for the high-quality development of a central state-owned and listed enterprise.
2023 marks a critical year for China market in its transition to the “post-pandemic” era, which also represents an important window period for the implementation of strategic initiatives of the Company. As a central state-owned and listed enterprise, the Company will continue to follow the overall deployment of the 14th Five-Year Plan and keep abreast of the latest development and requirements to promote steady development of the finance business, make strenuous efforts to improve the core capability and operating efficiency of the hospital group, accelerate the deployment of specialized disciplines and industry layout, and facilitate new breakthroughs in the high-quality development of the entire group, laying a solid foundation for the achievement of creating a more valuable listed company.
For further information, please contact:
PEANUT MEDIA LIMITED
Direct Line: +86-755-61619798 x8210
Email: hswh.project@czgmcn.com