China Financial Regulator to Raise Insurance Funds’ Limits for Stock Investment

China’s financial regulator plans to raise limits for insurance funds’ investment in the stock market, as part of action taken to increase support for capital markets and the real economy.

It will raise the upper limit of the equity asset allocation ratio of some insurers by about 5%, the National Financial Regulatory Administration said in a statement on Tuesday.

The increase will “expand the space of equity investment and provide more equity capital for the real economy,” the regulator said.

The government has stepped up efforts to stabilize the stock market where prices have plunged due in part to the impact of U.S. tariff action. Several state holding companies on Tuesday vowed to increase share investment.

The regulator said it will also allow insurance funds to increase investment in venture capital funds to guide money into strategic emerging industries.

(Reporting by Liz Lee, Ziyi Tang and Beijing newsroom; editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher Cushing)