UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China - April 18

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, April 18 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Friday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd (601318.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), China's second-largest life insurer, said first-quarter premiums at its life insurance unit were 27.67 billion yuan ($3.96 billion), while premiums at its property unit were 7.52 billion yuan.

-- First-quarter figures from 34 funds showed that 25 stock-oriented funds had reduced their portfolios' equity weightings by an average of 7 percentage points, as the stock market slumped, although redemptions were relatively small.

-- Chinese property developer Poly Real Estate Co (600048.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a 253 percent rise in first-quarter net profit from a year earlier to 276 million yuan, or 0.11 yuan per share.

-- The time is not ripe for China to encourage all companies to embrace stock incentive plans as the country's capital markets and corporate governance are not yet mature enough, said Shao Ning, vice chairman of China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The regulator will also cap annual pay rises for senior managers at state-owned firms at 7 percent to narrow the income gap with ordinary workers, and would link their pay with the company's performance in a more effective way.

SECURITIES TIMES

-- China's top securities regulator Shang Fulin said the government would strengthen supervision to fight corruption, to give strong political backing to reform of the country's capital markets, and would ensure stable development of the market.