HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An" or "the Group"; HKEX: 2318/82318; SSE: 601318) retained its position as the world's most valuable insurance brand in the "2026 Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands" by Kantar BrandZ. With a brand value of over USD 37.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 41%, Ping An ranked 71st among the 100 shortlisted brands, rising 13 places from last year.

The Kantar BrandZ report cites Ping An's commitment to technology-driven development and service innovation as the core drivers behind the significant increase in brand value, highlighting the Group's brand resilience and innovation momentum across economic cycles.

AI–Powered Innovative Services

In 2026, Ping An upgraded its AI-powered Express Service and Global Emergency Assistance:

• AI-powered Express Service: The first solution of its kind in the financial industry, providing customers with a single access point to complete transactions, financing, claims, and urgent requests using one sentence.
• Global Emergency Assistance: Connects with more than 200,000 medical institutions and 600,000 service providers, offering coverage across 233 countries and regions worldwide, with 38 service offerings designed to safeguard customer safety.

Integrated Finance Enhances Customer Development

Ping An's integrated finance model enables it to continue improving customer operating efficiency. As of March 31, 2026, the Group served nearly 252 million retail customers, and customer retention remained at a high level. Through four major categories of products, namely protection, asset management, credit, and service, Ping An systematically meets customers' diverse financial, health and senior care needs. 

The Group further strengthens customer engagement and retention through service‑based products. Over the past 12 months, the retention rate for customers holding two product categories reached 97%, while retention among customers holding three or more categories reached as high as 99%.

Full-Scenario Health and Senior Care Services

Ping An has built a full-scenario service network covering "online, in-hospital, at-home, and corporate" services:

• Ping An's proprietary medical AI large language model empowers online medical services. In the first quarter of 2026, more than 5.6 million users used Ping An's AI Doctor services.
• As of March 31, 2026, Ping An had partnered with more than 38,000 hospitals in China, achieving 100% partnership coverage of China's top 100 hospitals and 3A hospitals.
• In the home-based senior care space, cumulatively more than 290,000 customers had become entitled to Ping An's home-based senior care services as of March 31, 2026, an increase of approximately 50,000 from the beginning of the year.
• Ping An also served 165,000 corporate customers. Its one-click QR code payment service for offline medicine purchases by corporate health management customers now covers 111,000 pharmacies nationwide.

"AI in ALL" Empowers Business

Ping An has built a leading technology foundation, guided by an "AI in ALL" principle, to empower its businesses. In April 2026, Ping An's "Medical Large Model 3.5" achieved the highest global score on HealthBench Hard, an authoritative global medical AI benchmark released by OpenAI, outperforming several leading technology companies, including Meta and OpenAI.

In March 2026, Ping An's financial large language model ranked first overall on the CNFinBench leaderboard, an industry-leading benchmark for evaluating financial LLM capabilities. "AI in ALL" enables financial businesses to enhance customer experience, strengthen risk management, reduce costs, and drive sales growth.

In the first quarter of 2026:

• Ping An Life established a new claims standard "111 Quick Claims," with quick claims accounting for 59% of total claims;
• Ping An P&C's AI–powered anti–fraud claims interception reduced losses by RMB 3.65 billion;
• Ping An's AI service representatives handled approximately 487 million customer interactions, covering 82% of total service volume;
• AI agents supported demand analysis, personalized recommendations, and sales pitches, contributing to RMB 30.442 billion in sales.

Looking Ahead

Since its founding, Ping An has consistently regarded service as the foundation of its business. Guided by a customer–centric philosophy, the Group safeguards the well–being of millions of families through high–quality services. Designating 2026 as its "Service Year," Ping An will continue to deepen its "finance + services" business model.

By upgrading innovative offerings such as its AI–powered Express Service and Global Emergency Assistance, Ping An is committed to transforming every customer need into a concrete, tangible service scenario—elevating it into a reliable, high–quality lifestyle experience—while delivering more cost–effective healthcare and senior care solutions.

For more information, please visit the www.group.pingan.com and follow our LinkedIn page - PING AN.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ping-an-recognized-as-the-worlds-most-valuable-insurance-brand-in-2026-top-100-most-valuable-global-brands-by-kantar-brandz-302773419.html

Thyssenkrupp zieht beim geplanten Verkauf seiner Stahlsparte an den indischen Konkurrenten Jindal vorerst die Reißleine. Beide Unternehmen haben vereinbart, die seit September laufenden Gespräche auszusetzen. Nach Angaben des Essener Industriekonzerns soll die Neuaufstellung von Thyssenkrupp Steel nun aus eigener Kraft konsequent weiterverfolgt werden. Konzernchef Miguel López betonte, die Voraussetzungen für eine profitable Fortführung des Geschäfts seien „so gut wie lange nicht mehr“.

Im Hintergrund steht ein deutlicher Stimmungsumschwung im europäischen Stahlsektor. Thyssenkrupp verweist auf „große Fortschritte bei der Neuausrichtung“ des Segments und ein deutlich verbessertes Umfeld. Die Europäische Union habe die Bedeutung der Stahlproduktion für die Resilienz industrieller Wertschöpfungsketten erkannt und den Willen bekundet, die europäische Stahlindustrie stärker gegen globale Überkapazitäten und Dumping abzuschirmen. Zudem will Brüssel die Umstellung auf eine klimafreundliche Stahlproduktion weiter unterstützen.

Auch operativ hat sich die Lage bei Thyssenkrupp Steel zuletzt aufgehellt. Die Sparte, historischer Kern des Ruhrkonzerns, legte im laufenden Geschäft zu. Parallel läuft jedoch ein tiefgreifender Umbau: Zur Sanierung des Bereichs sollen in den kommenden Jahren bis zu 11.000 der rund 26.000 Stellen gestrichen oder ausgelagert werden. López hatte bereits zuvor erklärt, je erfolgreicher die Neuausrichtung umgesetzt werde, desto attraktiver werde das Stahlgeschäft für Kapitalmarkt und Investoren – „ob mit oder ohne Jindal“.

Der vorläufige Verkaufsstopp bedeutet keinen endgültigen Verbleib der Stahlsparte im Konzern. Mittelfristig hält Thyssenkrupp an dem Ziel fest, sich vom Stahlgeschäft zu trennen. Gewerkschaften wie die IG Metall drängen derweil auf Klarheit und fordern ein Ende der Verkaufsüberlegungen ohne „Hintertür“. Sie verlangen Gespräche über ein Modell, mit dem sich der Stahlbereich eigenständig und aus eigener Kraft verselbstständigen könnte. Während frühere Versuche für einen Verkauf, ein Joint Venture oder einen Börsengang gescheitert sind, setzt das Management nun darauf, den Wert des Bereichs vor einem möglichen nächsten Schritt weiter zu steigern.