Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to New China Life 2021 Annual Results Announcement. Today we have senior management to attend. They are CEO and President Li Quan, Vice President Zhang Hong, Vice President and CFO Yang Zheng, Vice President Yu Zhigang, Vice President, Chief Actuary, and Board Secretary Mr. Gong Xingfeng, Vice President Yu Zhigang. Mr. Gong Xingfeng is online. We also invite four independent directors to attend. They are Mr. Zheng Wei, Mr. Chen Yiting, Mr. Bin Junxi, and Mr. Ma Jingting. Welcome them. Today we have two parts. The first is the introduction of 2021 annual results by the senior management. The second is a Q&A session. We also send a series interpretation for investors, analysts, and the friends from media with the meeting link as sheet CSS 401. This is the business performance introduction.
Mr. Li Quan will introduce the 2021 business performance and the future growth prospect. Mr. Yang Zheng introduce financials and investments. Mr. Gong Xingfeng introduce the combined value. Let's welcome Mr. Li Quan.
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to New China Life 2021 Annual Results Announcement. First, I would like to introduce the overview. In 2021, the company achieved steady progress in operation. Facing severe external situations, the company adhered to the strategy of asset liability dual-engine driving growth. Total assets exceeded CNY 1 trillion, and operating revenue and profit steadily increased. GWP amounted to CNY 963 billion, up by 2.5% year-on-year. FYRP from long-term insurance business amounted to CNY 21.8 billion, up by 4%. The core business improved.
Combined value reached CNY 258.8 billion, up by 7.6% year-on-year compared to the end of 2020. Total assets amounted to CNY 1.58 trillion, up by 12.3% compared to the end of 2020. Net profit to the shareholders amounted to CNY 14.9 billion, up by 4.66% year-on-year. The total investment yield reached 5.9%, up by 0.4 percentage points. In 2021, New China Life developed life insurance business, activities of the national strategy centers, social responsibility, and practices for family development. In serving national strategy, the company invested over CNY 380 billion. The sum assured was over CNY 1.3 trillion. The company carried out Healthy China strategy.
The personal pension insurance business covered about 9.4 million customers gained policies with earnings of CNY 129 million. The company supported the building of multi-level pension system, activated potential of product program training in all systems potential input. The company launched an exclusive digital insurance product for Greater Bay Area to support the regional economic development. The company invested in innovative financial products to support the real economy. In left-behind children social support network, the company helped resources in rural areas to support Rural Revitalization, invested a total of CNY 9.7 billion. The company continued to carry out the sanitation workers projects. Since the launch of the project until the end of 2021, the company has donated a sum assured of over CNY 300 billion with a compensation amount of over CNY 25 million. The company supported the disaster relief in Henan.
The company donated CNY 10 million to support flood relief and donated insurance to disaster relief workers with a cumulative sum assured of CNY 1.105 billion. In order to fight against COVID-19, the company provided pandemic prevention insurance to frontline medical staff, policemen, community workers with a cumulative sum assured of over CNY 400 million to CNY 6 billion. The company always adheres to low-carbon environmental-friendly operation, actively responds to climate change, promotes the construction of a low-carbon civilization. In all our technology, the company carry out various measures for energy conservation and emission reduction and creates value for shareholders, customers, employees, communities, and society. Looking forward to 2022. Under the guidance of regulatory policies, life insurance will pay more attention to participating in social governance and giving play to its protection function. Digital transformation is inevitable.
Digital revolution requires suppliers be more adaptable and flexible to the market shifts. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, the company will improve its growth driver, promote the overall strategy of life insurance, and apply well-managed senior care and health care as support and promote ongoing growth. The company will focus on life insurance, offer excellent service, excellent growth, and excellent management to achieve a second takeoff. In terms of business growth, the company will highlight both business value and volume, strengthen value management while maintaining steady volume growth, focusing on regular premium business to consolidate a foundation for long-term development. The company will work hard to improve agent basic management, strengthen business performance orientation, accelerate multi-business coverage growth, further strengthen product innovation, and improve team quality, business quality, production efficiency, and drastically strengthen risk management and prevention.
Next, I'd like to introduce insurance business. In 2021, although the growth of first-year premiums was under pressure, the company realized GWP of CNY 163 billion, with a growth rate of 2.5% year-on-year. FYP from long-term insurance reached CNY 14 billion, up by 5.5% year-on-year, accounting for 25% of GWP. Renewal premiums reached CNY 160 billion, up by 3.5%, taking up 71.5% of GWP. Premiums from short-term insurance business amounted to CNY 5.6 billion, down by 25% year-on-year. GWP breakdown by channels. The individual insurance channel realized CNY 119 billion, up by 2.1%. Bank insurance channel realized premiums of over CNY 40 billion, increasing by 2.5%, accounting for 24.9% of GWP.
Group insurance realized premiums of CNY 2.9 billion, up by 21% year-over-year. In terms of individual insurance channel, individual insurance channel made positive response to external changes, pushed forward transformation development, matched customers' needs, and balanced product structure. FYP from long-term insurance amounted to CNY 14.6 billion, down by 4.1% year-over-year. Renewal premiums amounted to CNY 100 billion, up by 5.2% year-over-year. In terms of sales team, in 2021, the company continued to maintain relative peace. The agent staff count reached 389,000, down by 35.8%. New average number qualified agents was 91,000, reduced by 10.9%. Multi-average qualified rate was 19.1%. The monthly average per agent per agent was 2,700, growing by four point one percent year-over-year.
In 2021, bank insurance channel deepened the cooperation with important partners, optimized product and service offering to grow regular premium products. FYP from long-term insurance amounted to CNY 1.2 billion, up by 26%. Renewal premiums totaled CNY 15.5 billion, down by 6.8% year-on-year. The company matched customers' diversified demands. FYP from long-term traditional insurance amounted to CNY 14 billion, increasing by 13.6%. FYP from long-term benefit insurance amounted to CNY 18 billion, increasing by 11.6% year-on-year. Due to sluggish health insurance business and claiming of agent medicals, FYP from long-term health insurance reached CNY 8.4 billion, decreasing by 18.8% year-on-year.
For business quality, the 13-month and the 25-month persistency ratios of individual life insurance were 83.7% and 83.8%, down by 6.2 percentage points and 1.1 percentage point. The surrender rate was 2%, increasing by 0.5%. That's all for the business, insurance business. Now let's welcome Ms. Yang Zheng to introduce financial.
Thank you. Next I will introduce the financial. In this year, in 2021, the margin of the interest and investment yield and stable has helped the insurance business. The total revenue of the company reached about CNY 3.72 billion in 2021. At the same time, our expenses increased a little bit. Commission and other expenses increased 18.1%, and the administrative expenses decreased 12%, which can show that the structure in sources is harmonious.
The income from net interest totaled CNY 14.1 billion, up by 46%. Reducing other expenses CNY 14.09 billion. For investment, the total investment assets of the company totaled CNY 1 trillion. The company stick to long-term value investing and adapt a flexible investment tactics and that is the major guidance, seek opportunities in the market and control investment risks and follow our disciplines. Outstanding investment yield is achieved last year. The total investment yield was 4.1% up year-on-year. The net investment yield was 4.3% up 0.3 percentage points. The main investment growth is mainly on account of the dividend decreased to 2.3%, which is in line with the general external environment and economic conditions.
Last year as to the investment portfolio circumstance, by end of 2021, the investment portfolio remains stable. The term deposit increased obviously up by CNY 2.9 billion to become 51.6% of the total assets. The stock shares financial assets account the debt financial assets account for 53% down by from the 32. Other financial assets account rose from 23.8% up by 2.4%. As for the non-standard assets, in the past several years, the company has disclosed the non-standard assets, and we can see that the non-standard asset is in line with what we have disclosed. By the end of last year, non-standard asset also continues to decrease in percentage to 20.5%.
Also the credit is stable and all the risks are within control as for the solvency. By end of 2021, the core solvency ratio was 2043% down by about 25 bp. Comprehensive solvency ratio was 2052% down by about 26 bp. This is mainly because the increase of the non-standard assets was in line with the principle to reduce the embedded value. Next slide, please, Jenny. Next, I want to introduce the embedded value of the idea. By end of 2021, the company's customer ID count increased by 10.6% up to nearly 598 million, of which bank insurance customers by 2.4% to 95.8 million. The customer loan was grown by 10.2% to a balance of CNY 60 billion in 2021.
The major contributors to the growth were the investment return, which contributed 2.5% and 8% to the growth, respectively. The [audio distortion] company was CNY 2.9 billion, down by 34.9%. As for the data, the [ audio distortion ] margin was 12.1%. APE-based revenue margin was 2.7%. That's all for the [ audio distortion ]. Thank you.
Thank you for the introduction. Now is the Q&A session. Because of time limit, each one has two questions. Please tell us your name and your institution before reading your questions. This is the Q&A session. Let's welcome the first question. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Q&A session. If you want to ask question, please press star on your dial. The first question from CFC.
Thank you for the opportunity. I have two questions. The first is the company's strategy. The investments in some banks achieved like years. In 2021, the company grew bank insurance channel. The bank insurance channel contributes a little to BD and MD. We see the proportion of bank insurance channel is higher. Bank insurance channel contributed to assets. Bank insurance channel may bring pressure in the future development of the company. What's the future strategy of the company? The second question is that because of the worsening critical illness or surrender rates? Does that affect the NBV? The first question is for Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Yang Zheng.
Thank you for your question. In fact, you have answered your questions and your suggestions. The company, according to the markets and macroeconomic situations, will adjust its business strategy.
In terms of the bank insurance channel and the individual insurance channel, our company has a traditional life insurance company. The company focus on the value of individual insurance channel and its contribution to the company's growth. The bank insurance channel realized a positive growth in recent years. Bank insurance channel bring management pressure of which assets. The company considers the duration of products and the cost of assets. Also consider the assets liability duration, which contributed to the increase of total assets and will contribute to the growth of value. The company considers all of the factors mentioned above. Now, the investments returns can guarantee the overall value of the bank insurance is higher than expectations. We will adjust our business strategy considering the actual situations.
Mr. Yang's opinion represent all of us. I have one opinion. From 2019, the company will focus on bank insurance channel from long-term strategic perspective. We strengthen the cooperation with banks. In particular, since the outbreak of COVID-19, the company and the insurance industry have met difficulties. The company consider the future developments and strengthen the management of bank insurance channels. We also emphasize on individual insurance channel and before the COVID-19, we will continue to put resources and improve efficiency in bank insurance channel to contribute to long-term development of the company. The second question is for Mr. Gu Xiangdong.
Value decreased a lot in 2021 because of many reasons. The first is the product structure, marketing, and the worsening of critical illness. There are many factors, many reasons for the reduction of value. The market did pay much attention to the value. We can see many enterprises have decreased value in previous years.
The whole life insurance industry has met difficulties, including the marketing of high-value products and the sales team. In 2022, we emphasize on all channels. How to improve the value? From my perspective, we have to consider this question. If you sell short-term insurance products with low value, for the company, we see the overall steady value improvements. The company's products. There is much room for life insurance industry, even though there are difficulties. Because of COVID-19, people's life and production saw difficulties, especially for the ordinary people. In the future, the wealth management and the life insurance industry, including the penetration and the depth will also life insurance. Diversifying the product strategy is helpful to increase value. The second is the products. What's the next growth room in future? Our company focus on two things, Healthcare and senior care.
At the same time, we improve our focus through technology empowerment. We hope this can innovate product design to guarantee high-value products, including critical illness, long-term saving, and long-term senior care products. The third is the product management. We will manage risks. The compensation for some products is insufficient. This will push the company to improve the single product profit and value. The fourth is the reform of sales team, and that require us to improve team quality, high persistency. That will increase the value of the company. We will see challenges in terms of products. I think the most important thing is to transform products. Transformation of products will help us improve the value as well.
Thank you.
Yes. Welcome the next question. Next question comes from [audio distortion].
Thank you for the opportunity. I have two questions. First is about the distribution channel. Second is about solvency. We see that the individual sales channel, as mentioned just now. We've talked about a lot of bancassurance channel and individual sales channel in 2019 and 2020 have seen significant growth in agent headcounts, but in 2021, we can see there's a decrease of agent headcounts. Now the total agents is about 3,399. The company has a similar headcounts about in the same level in 2016 or 2017. I want to know your expectation about total agent headcounts in the future. Will you further clean the agent headcounts? The second is about the solvency ratio.
At first, we can see both the comprehensive and core solvency ratio decreased a lot, just as you mentioned. That's maybe because of the new business. We want to know the specific reasons and if you further elaborate. The second is, in the first quarter, you did disclose the NBV in the first quarter, and I want to know the impact of this loss to our company. Just, that's the only thing we want to be clear in the first question. Thank you.
You know, the difficulty facing life insurance channel is evident since 2020. The individual sales channel saw peer pressure because of the pandemic. Since 2021, we can see the continued spread of COVID-19, and which has negative impact on the marketing of the sales. That's the first thing we hope. Secondly, the individual sales channel in the past 30 years has accumulated some problems, and those are more evident. In business model transformation, product mismatches, and those mismatches are even more evident. Impact of changing regulations. The regulation is increasing more strict and those measures are required to implement and including the self-assessment process were not included in the assessment and the impact. Also there will be video and audio recording in the sales process. Those have impact on the sales activity.
Also SEI as a state-owned enterprise is willing to follow the high-quality model and, which means we should pay attention to the valuables. Secondly, we have triplicated financial investment. Thirdly, the company has paid attention to high-quality growth requirement, and we need to clean all the fake members. In 2021, there are great pressures facing the company. You know, as I've mentioned about the policies and positive of the team growth. As now we've mentioned that there is great potential for future growth and how to explore that. We've made a lot of discussions and the reporting of the plan. Our strategies emphasize that we need to follow the law and stress innovation.
Following the law means that we need to minimize submissions and focusing on the basic management and strengthen the capability. We need to secure the true premium, the true agent partners and to ensure the true premium partners. The second is we need to focus on professionalization, which means we need to further strengthen our four core teams and increase the agent quality with our systems. We need more technology in the team, and we'll build a professional young agent. The second is we will further strengthen the service. The service, we will increase the quality contact with the sales policy service to include the claims contact. Through this model, so we hope to increase the technology quality and the team's leap on the above basis. Also we emphasize the innovation.
There are four innovations needs to be solved, and we need to innovate our sales systems, the marketing models, and how to find new ways with the internet and new customer acquiring models, to build a new sales model and marketing model and service model as well as the method model. Those four in terms of innovations including the service, the product, and the method. Yet, well, in the process of innovation, we have suffered quite a bit of damage. Just now I've mentioned the difficulty facing the team building. Now to further elaborate that the individuals from 24%, 94% of the value of the company is in the employees. If 76% of the sales team. Innovation needs time. We have about 400,000 agents in the databases.
We need to work our team to create a good quality for sales team. In the second is how do we reduce the qualified experience challenge. We have to transform the old team and the personnel structure, have qualified agents. We have to recruit the qualified agents. In the third, we have to have defined standard and high quality training. In training cost from innovation 2024, the training expense has certain complexities and when we integrate a new team and we integrate resources to support the two. We hope to upgrade our technology to support the sales activities and the customer flow. The first is we are working in the appropriate policies to help the result of the increasing team.
The second point is we hope to elevate the new team. In the 14th Five-Year Plan, we also have to elaborate this. Specifically, we hope to create a new atmosphere of the new team and then use technology and service to empower the team and to target the customers through online tools. This new team will be newer with newer capacity. The sales team will include both the public areas and also private customers. We hope to create a closed circle for the customer service. We just formed, we made specific department and we started the pilot for new team and then before old team. We hope to create the build of a high quality team . Next one will be for the second question. Let's see decrease of the sales remuneration.
We can see the numbers that there's a large decrease, and this is mainly because the increase of the capital, a higher [ audio distortion ]. There is a decrease of the sales remuneration. Just on the other hand, when we have elaborated that, there are three effects involving human capital. There are three effects in specific regarding segmentation, business service, credit risks, and the counterparty risks accounting for less than 10%. The previous two factors contribute more. After we reach 200, we can see that the market risk, the business has larger requirements than the management capital. The market risks increase faster. We can see it's the historical risks. That's the core reason. There's a decrease chart of the historical growth. We are already having [audio distortion].
Lastly, we will be doing the second is business. In 2021, just now when you mentioned about the business cycle and before the FYRP, we can see that the interest rate environment has softened. The result in the adjustment in our product mix. The first premium has a lower percentage. The business risk of the income from this component. From this policy one to two, we will decrease the final decision of two. This causes just this impact on C-ROSS II. This is one of our big risks. To prevent this, the company support this policy and they support this cost. The sales remuneration will decrease without the premium. The sales remuneration will be higher than the other component. Now, the pre-sales remuneration should have a larger decrease.
This is because the surplus of the capital will be under stress based on the turnout, the aggressive policies. This will have a larger impact on the whole capital, which will result in a decrease of the pre-sales remuneration. We have a less impact on the company if the sales remuneration is down. The C-ROSS II will not only have an impact on the sales remuneration, it also the second is we will need to improve the investment and management ability of the company, and we need to better embody these risks in the C-ROSS II.
There's a lot of guidance in C-ROSS II regulations, and there are a lot of requirements and restrictions, for example, the company will be more prudent in managing our assets and to meet the requirements and the criteria of the asset allocation. The first is we will improve the risk management abilities. The C-ROSS II have new criteria or standard for the risk factors, and the company will strengthen the management of the risks and to increase the capabilities. As to improve our capabilities in protecting ourselves against the risks.
Thank you. That was the last question.
Next question is from Liu Jingming from China Securities Journal. Thank you. I have two questions. The first is the wealth management strategy. The company unveiled a wealth management strategy in 2019. You have three steps.
The first is the positioning of wealth management and the structural improvements of wealth management. What's the progress now? The second is the life insurance asset management companies can coordinate within New China Life. The second question is about investment. We can see the total investment yield was 5.9% last year. In the first quarter of this year, the capital markets [were] volatile. What's the trend of capital markets this year and the assets impairment ratios? Thank you. I will answer your two questions. First, New China Life, including headquarters and asset management company, [will] carry out the wealth management strategy. In 2021, we achieved rapid growth and the results. In particular, the third party business. The third party business is in rapid growth, including the quality and the quantity of third party business. You must be familiar with this.
The third party business is flourishing for New China Life. In terms of organizational structure, we established the third party business department, including equity, fixed income business. Life insurance are good at fixed income business, so we attracted a lot of institutional investors. The size was CNY 264 billion and over 100 customers. The products have been improved. In 2021, the company developed 47 products. By the end of 2021, we will have 100 products in terms of different risks and different returns. We have special product teams. China's investment is a choice for life insurance company. We have a professional staff, professional managers. We have wealth management plan in 14th Five-Year Plan. We will build whole comprehensive investment capabilities.
Because investment management capability is the most important for New China Life advantage of this strength and manage our risks and treat all customers and investors equally. To develop the wealth management, we also emphasize on absolute return. We stay committed to long-term value-oriented investment. In terms of coordination, wealth management will support the main life insurance business. Our strategy NCI deals with two engine driving, both volume and value growth. That is to help grow the main life insurance business. That investment increase supports the life insurance business and meet customers' diversified demands in wealth management. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, we will cultivate wealth management and take advantage of the strength of [audio distortion] and explore the demands in elderly care, health care, and offer the customized products for high-net-worth customers.
We will serve the national strategy and deal with the aging population of China's society. We launch the exclusive pension insurance product. We will make asset management stronger and bigger. Now the exclusive pension insurance product got off to a good start, and that met our initial expectations. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, our target for wealth management is the proportion of third-party business are going to grow over 20% of the total assets under management of asset management company. Our enterprise is a national state-owned company. We will improve our political position to serve national development, serve the rural economy, and support the regional economic development, and universal benefits we can harness to the Belt and Road Initiative. We will continue to serve the rural economy and contribute our energies. In the changing market situation, the capital markets.
The capital markets with conflicts, and that brings lots of pressure to investors. We see much pressure. We have prepared for this situation, so we actively respond to this situation. When we meet with this severe situations, we are very confident about the future because the Chinese economic growth is sound. China's economic growth is better than other countries across the globe. It's better to meet this situation at the early of the year than the end of the year. Because then we will give our much time to adjust our investments. Insurance funds have sufficient liquidity, so we have growth of total assets, so we can carry out our investments and contribute to the Chinese economic growth. Thank you.
Thank you, I have one last question. Next question comes from .
Solutions have decreased especially in the [audio distortion ]. Solutions decreased a lot. What's the reason for that and how will you increase the quality of the business? I'd like to ask about the HK and the fundamental strategic policies to promote the HK. Recently, the peer companies has made a lot of movements in terms of the HK plus [audio distortion[ plus because there are similarities. How do you comment on the competition and how to build your competitive strength in group? Lastly, it's really a question about the quality of business. In 2021, the [ audio distortion ] have left the solutions depressed.
The reasons are that firstly, because of the pandemic, the customers of the business were in a vulnerable situation, and it's hard for anyone even to visit the customers. That's posing stress on the normal business.
Also because the customers use alternate methods of [ audio distortion ] performance. In fact, [ audio distortion ] shifted a lot to HK [ audio distortion ]. The third reason is that since 2020, the travel shifted from offline management to online management because of the pandemic. The management tools and management tasks were impacted by this shift. Additionally, some new service introduced, and we know [ audio distortion ] different [ audio distortion ] which is [ audio distortion ]. This is the third standard and [ audio distortion ] how to manage [ audio distortion ]. We will take the following measures to improve the quality. Firstly, we will incorporate the [ audio distortion ] into the separate and there can be specific reasons or the specific solutions. Then we will see the [ audio distortion ] for the last 10 years. Then we have the measures of the [ audio distortion] .
We have chosen [ audio distortion ] to solve the problem. If not, additional leaders will join in this regard to the window. The [ audio distortion ] is about how to have a solid online platform in which the customer can go to and create a culture of high quality. This we have to solve through problem-solving and improvement in the system management of process and build the right system and the right tool. In 2021, we organized also a seminar series to resolve the distinction issue. Professor, in this regard, I would like to ask you the second question. [ audio distortion ] second question. I would like to ask you in the first few about the [ audio distortion ].
In [ audio distortion ], we asked you to use [ audio distortion ] university ways and we concept the [ audio distortion ] of care after flight and [ audio distortion ] health content in patient healthcare post-hospital to use the tools after land. Thanks for taking the seven models in contrast to how you managed to create. Since the second half of 2020, the sales is relatively sound and [ audio distortion ] 2021. The participation of regular special digital customers was performing way in which we expected and supported in course of over CNY 6 billion. During this period, the launch of HK Unlimited. HK Unlimited has been in October this year going to see how things are going. While promoting our HP facilities and services, we also host many activities under our education hospital.
Again, as I said, we have a pretty much well-established and certified ecosystem of the medical field and also with our partners' medical field business that introduced in 2012 and launched last year in our hospitals in the West. Our strategy in the healthcare and aged care industries, the company's management team and also the board is also dedicated, and we've made a lot of measures in this regard. Recently, government emphasized the aged care and healthcare economy across the country. When last year the government has introduced policies that in order to better respond to the aging population in China and help to promote the healthcare and the elderly services knowledge and the understanding nationally. We will expand and follow this step, this policy and sharing our services and capabilities to further strengthen our capabilities and our potential.
We have made our hospitals also with the specific talents. We have our focus on the local professionals is very unique. In general speaking, age care, healthcare reform development of the strategies have to be working through some point of starting. In the first few phases of age care healthcare has to involve resources, which are mainly based on the family integration to create the value, added values to it and build a what is so-called of this business of age care and healthcare business. We are arranging that still has to make pre-plans in advance for that. Still with our staff and graduates and caregivers are the staff that not only they will have to help forever.
The plan has to be planned on the front, which will bring the good things and success rate and promote the age care health business which has become a very successful business. Further, this means that in order to manage this technological field, having in mind the national return and also establish the local return after three years or after five years will be the two main ways to qualify resources. The resources will be larger than the previous policy that was introduced in the initial offer period of 10 months, 10 years within only two months. With that, we are also planning to establish hospitals. When the company will create a professional platform to grow the resources, we will engage more and more trade projects in order to coordinate this environment with professional values.
Through this process, we will have some studying and all that process certificates, equipment, and references. To have a hospital expertise in all these major projects with also global and international guests applying to these potential development prospects. Also we have multiplied the total number of people we are engaging with. This particular business developed in 2006, the age care communities. In 2011 also the age care services developed. With cyber crime, unlimited data plans which will fund new products and new services including the virtual doctor, health AI, and data analytics using algorithms in order to analyze the health status for customers using parametric analytics. The value we see here is to build confidence and to exceed the standard in service.
We are also including a lot of value in. I'd love to share information with you in this aspect. The service, the products which will direct strategic strategies. In the strategic level term, we will set strategies out and we will satisfy the customer's needs for living a healthy life for well-being, for health management. In the future, we hope to receive a lot of new health care services. In this information era, we have a lot of information around us that we can take advantage of and utilize in our standard features and previous which are potential to business growth programs. We have made templates and we have a team which will study in how to do business. We will establish offline educational online content to uplift and improve our service system.
At the same time, we hope to create an online diagnosis platform to provide the consulting to the health and wealth to our customers and also to have a very deep link to channels. Hopefully in the future, we will be able to expand our distribution to address the disease. We will use this cross-platform domain of sort of talent pool and we will continue to invest in R&D. People who have talent will not be concerned and the factors the talented ones. The resources we see, the resources and talent pool which is in this space will make me a valuable partner for future growth development.
Next question from .
Thank you. I'm Journalist . How do you evaluate the 2021 business? What is your 2022 strategy? How will developments affect this plan?
The year 2022 is a difficult year for life insurance because of COVID-19 pandemic and severe external situations. In 2021, we have adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability. We also implement the development plans made by the board of directors and executive committee. We will take various measures to stabilize existing businesses. We will achieve steady progress in operation. First, we actively integrate into the national development. In 2021, the company shouldered a social responsibility and the practice of environmental protection. We did a lot of jobs. We launched the utilization of user data to help fight against the COVID-19. We also made investments, including technological innovation, high-end manufacturing. We supported the rural farming. We continued to carry out the afforestation projects.
We supported the quality innovation, such as the [ audio distortion ] company in Guizhou and Inner Mongolia. We also had a disaster relief in Henan. We donated money. In terms of liabilities, we achieved high quality and steady growth. The GWP amounted to over CNY 160 billion, up 2.5% in one year. This growth rate may be lower than last year, but this growth rate is hard-won because of the environments. We have growth momentum. In the first-year premiums, the long-term insurance amounted to over CNY 14 billion, and the renewal premiums also increased, a formative contributor for the growth of GWP. In terms of asset management, the investment return overachieved. Given the growth of asset prices and the third party business, our company achieved a total asset over CNY 1 trillion.
To manage CNY 1 trillion is not an easy thing. Investment return is excellent. The total investment yield was 5.9%. That is a two-digit figure in the history of New China Life. We see many highlights in the 2021 results, but we also met some difficulties and challenges, such as the reduction of MPV. The difficulties of marketing health insurance products. Health insurance products saw a sluggish growth. The new products, such as [Foreign language], brought challenges to the marketing of health insurance products. The persistency ratio reduced. That's the difficulties we met last year. In 2022, we will take various measures to solve these problems. Life insurance industry meets these difficulties because of the downward macroeconomic growth and the decreasing demands. For life insurance, we will be confident in development. We will have momentum in growth.
Life insurance rely on talents to develop. Both the asset and liabilities business will focus on talents. In liabilities, we will focus on sales team building to stabilize our sales team and improve the quality of sales team. We are confident in the potential of life insurance because the country has implemented measures to encourage the buying of insurance products. From the current economic growth, the insurance penetration density are lower than developed countries. There is a gap. The customers' protection, like Medicare, education, and housing are three great pressures for ordinary people, especially higher medical costs, higher treatments, and new drugs. There is great need for the growth of health and aging population. The aging population will increase the demand for long-term annuity products.
We will strengthen the brand building, meet customers' demands, and also diversify products to meet customers' demands. In terms of health insurance, we will upgrade the major products such as multiple protection plans to keep our competitive needs. The second is to re-enrich the endowment critical illness products to meet the middle and low-end customers' demands. The third is to enrich the products to function, to protect the elderly and the children. The fourth is the protection for the women. The fifth is to develop innovative products and increase the products' investment yields. That's my answer. Thank you.
Thank you. Because of time limits, now let's welcome the last person.
I have two questions. First, I want to ask about the net profit. We see that the company has approved a quarter, a large economic reserve and totaled CNY 12 billion accounting for the last three.
The last question is net profit. I want to know what's the reason for that? During the last three years, the company appropriated a large amount of reserves, but do you have specific reasons for that? The second, I want to ask questions about existing, obviously, the qualified ratio of the company and then see how company obviously, made any, internal reserve result of the company. Do you see that as sign for a stable financial result? I think we'll answer the first question. For the profit, we will still account for a large proportion of the net profit voluntarily to give social contributions to that voluntary social protection developed after the operation in previous years.
The social protection development, so the company will make adjustments and to resist the impact of the past years' performance and middle-term and long-term potential considerations that you've explained during the entire life. The changes of assumption really comes from the assumed 115, the average yield, and also just now we mentioned the weather adjustment due to the worsening of the weather rate. The changes of assumptions resulted in a large amount of reserve appropriated. The companies have released their annual reports. The IFRS, I believe two different firms, similar to the 120 minutes. I want to mention one last note. Second question. Thank you for the question about the qualified agents.
Generally speaking, the trend of the past three quarters of the company has the total agent headcount decreased, but the qualified agents remained flat. The productivity of the head count has increased. We can see that from the business. There are several pressures faced in the decrease of the total agent headcounts during general time. Because in the dividends for just now mentioned with the active measures and professional needs, the qualified agent headcount is stabilized. I think there are a series of four initiatives we have to increase the quality of the agents. We've strengthened trainings. We made excellent influence on our Asian tournament and the World Series also because of high professional standards and organization we have been through in the summer in each club.
This helped us to signify our high standards and, Asians obviously have a passion for sports and for business as well, increasing their profits. The enterprise culture prevails in our existence in the performance in the summer of 1952 and the media attention that we had to build high-quality teams. They build on their merits. They have a better talent and better performance and therefore better results and better profit. Last, I will answer the questions from our emails and hotline. We select most concerned questions. The first question is the buyback shares of the company. The company now has no buyback shares. The company will focus on life insurance, adhere to asset-liability and income both volume and value growth.
The company returns to the essence of life insurance to improve life insurance function to achieve high-quality development and offer comprehensive protection and services. The second is to offer wealth management products and services to meet customers' demands in diversified wealth management. The second question is the increased dividend distribution. The company has no plan to adjust any dividend distribution. Since 2016, the company has increased the dividend distribution according to 40% of net profit. That is in line with the company's situation and regulatory requirements. Thank you for your concern. The 2021 results announcement is over. If you have further questions, please contact our hotline soon. Thank you.