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BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese insurance firms listed on the A-share market reported double-digit growth in combined premium income last year, according to company statements.

A total premium income of 2.19 trillion yuan (about 323.1 billion U.S. dollars) was obtained by the five listed insurers: Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., China Life Insurance Company Limited, The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited, China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd., and New China Life Insurance Company Ltd.

Compared with 2017, income rose 10.8 percent, outpacing the 3.9-percent increase for the whole sector.

The rise in premium income came amid tightened regulations last year aimed at defusing financial risks in the world's second biggest insurance market.

The sector has shown a stronger capacity to fend off risks as its overall leverage has gradually dropped and business structure improved, the regulator said in December.