Dear colleagues,

As the year 2017 draws to an end, we will enter 2018 with a thankful heart for the past and an exciting vision for the future!

In 2018, Ping An will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Over the past 30 years, we built Ping An from scratch into a giant through competition and innovation. As a founder of the company, I’m honored to have witnessed its growth from a team of only 13 members into a fintech conglomerate. Today, we have 1.70 million colleagues, 150 million customers and 450 million internet users. Ping An now ranks 39th on the Fortune Global 500 list, 16th on the Forbes Global 2000 list, and 1st among global insurance groups by market cap and brand value.

We owe our success to our society, shareholders, customers, and colleagues. With a thankful heart, we are embarking on a new journey. We hope to predict the future and embrace changes. We hope to understand customers deeply and optimize offerings. We hope to know you better and use expertise to make life easier.

At age 30, we strongly feel that a company’s growth is closely related to the national destiny and societal development. Ping An owes its success to a rising nation, a prosperous society, and people’s aspirations for a better life. We have cherished this vision since we founded Ping An in Shekou 30 years ago. It is our original aspiration. In the coming 30 years, we will remain true to our original aspiration and fulfill our social responsibilities. China has launched its largest ever project designed to improve people’s livelihood — the Poverty Alleviation Program. Only in a peaceful, harmonious and prosperous society can Ping An achieve a bright future. Therefore, we have actively answered the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee’s call to alleviate poverty precisely. In 2017, we established the Educational Charity Board, and designated the company’s founding anniversary as “Ping An Charity Day”. We have conducted education support programs for 11 consecutive years. Over 6,000 volunteers from Ping An have spent a total of 260,000 hours teaching 300,000 children in remote rural areas. We have created the Rural Financial Services Development Committee, promoted agricultural insurance, established the Puhui Business Group, and provided rural areas with over RMB 1 trillion worth of insurance and financing services.

According to President Xi Jinping’s report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, “We should take a holistic approach to poverty alleviation, combining it with aspirations and education.” In 2018, we will launch an RMB 10 billion “Three-village Project”.  “Village Officer Program,” “Village Doctor Program” and “Village Teacher Program” make up the three facets of this poverty-reduction, health-enhancement and education-improvement project, the goal of which is to help make life better during this new era in China and build a beautiful countryside.

Our “Village Officer Program” is designed to help villages develop industries so that the poor can make a living. As “engines” of rural economies, industries must be jump-started to boost villagers’ incomes. Struggling to lift villagers out of poverty, many local officers find it difficult to implement suitable projects due to the lack of financial support. So we will provide RMB 100 billion of interest-free loans to village officers in poor areas across the country. These loans will enable poor villages to upgrade industries and eradicate poverty.

Our “Village Doctor Program” is designed to increase healthcare resources in rural areas so that villagers will have easy access to medical services. From 2018, we will build and upgrade 1,000 rural clinics, improve certification standards for rural clinics and enhance medical facilities to improve treatment conditions in poor areas. We will recruit outstanding doctors and medical experts from major cities to provide 10,000 village doctors with specialized courses, distance training and seminars either on-site or on internet platforms such as “Ping An Good Doctor” (China’s No.1 online healthcare portal).

Our “Village Teacher Program” is designed to provide rural children with better education. Poverty alleviation must be combined with education support so that poverty will no longer be inherited. From 2018, we will provide 1,000 rural primary schools in poor areas across China with facilities such as libraries and electronic classrooms to improve learning conditions and actively organize supportive teaching activities. We will recruit outstanding teachers and education experts from major cities to provide 10,000 village teachers with specialized courses, distance training and seminars either on-site or on internet platforms such as our dedicated rural education support website.

The “Three-village Project” requires great efforts because poverty alleviation is no easy job. We have gained experience from over 20 years of charitable activities. Since this year’s “Ping An Charity Day”, more and more of our colleagues have gone to rural areas to support local industries, healthcare, and education. This has strengthened our confidence. Ping An P&C implemented an interest-free, guarantee-free program in Taijiang, Guizhou, using technologies such as satellite-based remote sensing, the Internet of Things, and Digital Risk System (DRS) to help mushroom growers cut costs and prevent risks. Ping An Wanjia Healthcare established a remote medical service facility “Yi Shi Platform” in Henan to allow rural patients to consult doctors online. Ping An Life carried out the “Mu Tian Book Donation” program to provide 200,000 rural children with 1.15 million books in over 5,500 libraries. We are happy and proud to see these changes. However, to fulfill our social responsibilities and historic mission, we still have a long way to go.

Many hands make light work! So we call on each of you to participate in the “Three-village Project”. If you send messages about the RMB 100 billion loans to your hometown, some local industries may get support. If you circulate recruitment ads for 10,000 village doctors to your friends, some rural patients may be cured. If you spread recruitment ads for education volunteers around, some rural children may have a bright future.

Small acts can make a big difference. So we call on you, our 1.70 million colleagues, to fight together in this battle against poverty!

To keep growing, a company must align its vision with the national destiny and rejuvenation. With a thankful heart at age 30, Ping An will pursue a two-pronged strategy of “Finance + Technology” to keep its leadership in global fintech and healthtech sectors. Expertise makes life easier and better.

Thank you for being with Ping An in the past 30 years. Let’s remain true to our original aspiration and march forward together in the coming 30 years! We wish you all the best! Happy new year!