Great Eastern's net profit surges 124% to $217.9

Due to the narrowing of credit spreads and the rally in the equity market.

Great Eastern Holdings kickstarted the year right with the upsurge in its bottom line for the quarter ending in March.

The group achieved a 124% growth in net profit to $217.9m, compared to the $96.9m recorded in the previous year. This is thanks to higher non-operating profit, which has swung back to growth at $44.7m.

The higher bottom line was also due to narrowing of credit spreads and rally in equity market, and higher profit from shareholders’ fund’s investments.

"Our synergistic bancassurance partnership with OCBC Bank continues to yield good results. The Group’s agency force also plays an important role in our multi-channel distribution capabilities and contributed significantly to the overall results," Great Eastern CEO Khor Hock Seng said.