China Life annual profits up 123.9 pct

China life Insurance Company Limited (China Life), the country's largest life insurer, announced on Tuesday evening that its net profit in 2013 surged 123.9 percent year on year to 24.765 billion yuan (4 billion U.S. dollars).

Earnings per share stood at 0.88 yuan. China Life attributed the profit surge mainly to the increase of investment returns, according to its annual report.

Investment assets, including deposits, bonds, stocks and funds, equalled 1.85 trillion yuan by the end of 2013, up 3.2 percent from the previous year, showed the report.

The insurer also announced it earned 324.8 billion yuan in premiums in the past year.

By the end of 2013, the company's total assets reached 1.97 trillion yuan, up 3.9 percent year on year.