China Life net profits up 68.1 pct in H1

China Life Insurance Co., Ltd., the country's largest life insurer, on Wednesday said its net profits rose 68.1 percent in the first half of 2013 year-on-year.

Profits hit 16.20 billion yuan (2.6 billion U.S. dollars) thanks to climbing investment returns and decreased losses from the devaluation of assets, the company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Its premiums topped 200 billion yuan in the first six months, up 8.7 percent year-on-year.

The company's total assets stood at 1.98 trillion yuan by the end of June this year, up 4.5 percent from the end of 2012.