Insurers get overseas investment boost
26 July 2007
Chinese insurance companies received permission on Wednesday to invest up to 15% of their assets in overseas financial products, up from 5%. This could release an additional US$50 billion into the overseas investment pot, the Financial Times reported. China's insurers, whose US$330 billion in assets is thought to be growing by 25-30% per year, have seen investment rules slacken in recent years. By the end of last year, 15 insurance companies had been granted a collective overseas investment quite of US$5.8 billion. As of the end of June, US$2.6 billion has been used. With commercial banks, fund managers and securities companies already allowed to invest in global equities, JPMorgan estimates that at least US$50 billion will enter international capital markets over the next two years.