BEIJING - Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China said Wednesday its first-half net profits rose 32.7 percent year-on-year, boosted by fast growth in industrial insurance premiums and higher income from its banking businesses.

Net profits hit 12.76 billion yuan ($1.99 billion) for the first half of the year, up from 9.61 billion yuan one year earlier.

Earnings per share stood at 1.67 yuan, an increase of 28.5 percent year-on-year, the country's second-biggest insurer said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The insurer saw a sharp rise in its first-half premiums. Its individual insurance premiums climbed 29.3 percent year-on-year, while revenues from its industrial insurance business gained 35.9 percent, the statement said.

The group's banking?also contributed a lot to its first-half profits. Ping An Bank, a subsidiary of the group, reported a net profit of 1.21 billion yuan, up 34.9 percent year-on-year.

Shenzhen Development Bank, in which the group holds a 52.38 percent stake, contributed 1.18 billion yuan of net profits for it.

The group's total assets hit 1.31 trillion yuan at the end of June, an increase of 11.8 percent from the end of last year, the statement said.