CIRC CLEARS INSURERS’ INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) yesterday announced a pilot programme that will permit mainland insurers to invest at least 30bn yuan in the country’s infrastructure projects. With immediate effect, life assurers will be allowed to invest up to 5% of their total assets in infrastructure projects. Non-life insurers will be allowed to invest up to 2% of their total assets. The insurance sector in China had combined assets of just over 1.5tn yuan at the end of last year, making a minimum of 30bn yuan available for infrastructure projects. Insurers are restricted to investing in “key national projects” in transport, telecommunications, energy, municipal infrastructure and environmental protection sectors that have been approved by the State Council. For individual projects a life assurer cannot contribute more than 20% of the total budget. For non-life insurers the cap is 5%.