PREMIUMS UP 21% IN CHINA YEAR ON YEAR

China’s insurance sector reported premiums of 371.8bn yuan ($49.2bn) for the first half, up 21% year on year, according to figures just released by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC). Claims reached 115.7bn yuan, up 20.2% on the same period last year. Meanwhile, CIRC chairman Wu Dingfu said that the commission would be strengthening industry regulation in order to reduce misleading insurance sales and tackle problems in collecting claims.