FWD Group, a regional insurer founded by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai, said its first-half net profit jumped 15 times on strong sales growth and one-off cost reductions. In the first results since FWD’s HK$3.61 billion (US$466 million) initial public offering (IPO) in July, net profit soared to US$47 million from US$3 million a year earlier, the company said on Friday. The insurer said it would not pay an interim dividend. Driving the profit increase, annualised premiums from new...