BEIJING - China Life Insurance Company, the country's largest insurer, said on Friday that its profit slumped 28.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2014.

The firm made a net profit of 7.23 billion yuan ($1.17 billion), according to a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

It attributed the plunge in profit mainly to falling investment earnings, which was down by 7.49 percent year on year to 24.08 billion yuan in the first quarter.

By the end of March, total assets rose 3.9 percent from the end of 2013 to 2.05 trillion yuan, while insurance premiums surged 17.2 percent from the same period last year to 128.97 billion yuan.

China Life is listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. On Friday, its shares dropped 0.58 percent in Shanghai and were down by 1.45 percent in Hong Kong.

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