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CIRC chief: Insurers have great potential to increase investment in capital market

By Bi Xiaoning and Hu Yuanyuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-13 17:34

Wu Dingfu, chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), said on Saturday that China's insurance companies have great potential to increase their investment in the capital market.

Chinese insurers are allowed to invest up to 15 percent of their total assets in the capital market, but currently the proportion is only 8 percent, Wu said at the Caijing annual conference.

Meanwhile, Wu said that the regualtor will not encourage insurers to buy overseas assets right now. 

"Risk control, rather than investment return, should be insurers' primary concern when exploring the overseas market," he said. The total assets of the insurance sector have exceeded 3.2 trillion yuan by October, with the premium income jumping by 46.6 percent year-on-year.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd, China's second-largest life insurer, has lost over 90 percent of its investment into Fortis, Belgium's largest financial services group.