Investing.com - China’s Ping An Insurance (HK:2318) plans to invest as much as $15 billion into technology research and development over the next decade, including efforts to further develop blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
China’s largest insurer by market value already has a significant technology focus. The company spends 1% of its income in fintech and health related R&D, as much as $7 billion over the last 10 years.
The goal of the new commitment, said the company during an investor day on Thursday, is to solidify its presence in financial services.
The news did not help the company’s shares in Hong Kong on Friday. They were down 2.29% to HK$76.90 by 1:54 AM EST (6:54 GMT).
On Oct. 29, the company reported a 7% drop in profits for the third quarter of the year was CNY21.3 billion ($3.06 billion), compared to CNY22.89 billion during the same quarter in 2017.