China raises equity investment cap for insurers to 45%

[SHANGHAI] China's banking and insurance regulator said it was raising the cap on how much the country's insurers can invest in equity assets, an effort trying to bring more long-term funds into the capital market.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said in an online statement late on Friday it will allow insurers to invest up to 45 per cent of their total assets recorded at the end of the previous quarter in equity investments.

Currently, China caps all insurance companies' equity investment at 30 per cent of their total assets.

Investments will be capped at 10 per cent of the total share capital of any single listed company, the regulator added.

The official Shanghai Securities News said the move to raise the equity investment ceiling to 45 per cent from 30 per cent should introduce hundreds of billions of yuan to China's A-share market.

Shanghai shares ended higher on Friday, but still suffered their worst weekly drop in five months, as China's better-than-expected GDP data fuelled worries over the pace of policy easing, while foreign investors cashed in after a bull run. 

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REUTERS