Insurance firms allowed to directly invest in stock
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-25 09:48

China's insurance regulator has allowed the country's insurance companies to invest the equivalent of up to 5 percent of their assets directly into the stock market, a measure long expected by the market.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said that insurers can directly purchase stocks, convertible bonds and other instrumnts.

Prior to the latest rules, Chinese insurers were banned from such direct investment. They were only allowed to buy mutual funds.

China's insurance sector had total assets of 1.13 trillion yuan (US$136 billion) at the end of September, up 23.95 percent from the beginning of this year.

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