China Regulator Raises Cap on Equity Investments Made by Domestic Insurers to 45%
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% 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% of their total assets.
Investments will be capped at 10% 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% from 30% 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 fueled worries over the pace of policy easing, while foreign investors cashed in after a bull run.
(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Brenda Goh; editing by Lincoln Fest.)