Ping An?s Chairman Ma Didn?t Take a Salary in 2008

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China?s second-largest insurer, said Chief Executive Officer Peter Ma will forgo his salary for 2008 after the company lost $2.3 billion on its investment in Fortis.Ma, who earned 66.16 million yuan ($9.7 million) in 2007, made the decision after the financial crisis ?affected company performance,? Ping An?s Shenzhen-based spokesman Sheng Ruisheng said in a telephone interview today.Ping An has forecast a ?significant? drop in annual profit because of the decline in the value of its stake in Belgium?s Fortis, bailed out by three European governments last year. Ma, who earned 33 times more than his counterpart at larger China Life Insurance Co. in 2007, joins executives at companies from Citigroup Inc. to Sany Heavy Industry Co. who have