PING An Insurance (Group) Co announced at the weekend that it does not have any risk exposure to Lehman Brothers or any of the big name firms roiled by the financial turmoil as it seeks to calm investor confidence hit by sliding share prices.

The Shenzhen-based insurer has no exposure to Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, American International Group, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Washington Mutual Inc, the second biggest insurer in China said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange last Saturday.

The insurer also said it may make further provisions for losses from its stake in Fortis AG after the European bank and its shares fell to the lowest in 13 years.

Ping An may set money aside in its third quarter but the company still has adequate capital and a strong ability to make payments, the insurer said.

Ping An has witnessed the erosion of two-thirds of its yuan-backed A shares in value amid the double whammy of a flagging domestic stock market and the financial turmoil triggered by the United States subprime mortgage crisis.

Ping An has already booked a 10.5-billion-yuan (US$1.5 billion) loss in the first half of the year from its stake in the biggest Belgian financial firm.

Liu Xiyong, a National Trust analyst, said Ping An may even book a loss of about 17.8 billion yuan due to its Fortis investment.

Ping An in November said it would pay 1.81 billion euros (US$2.64 billion) to be the single biggest shareholder of Fortis, marking it the biggest overseas investment by a Chinese insurer.

But, with the financial turmoil this year, Fortis shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value so far.