CHINESE INSURERS EYE RAILWAY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

INVESTMENT opportunities in China’s railways remain attractive to the country’s insurers. Last week the Chinese authorities announced plans to increase the country’s railways to more than 120,000 km by 2020. They said the Yuan5trn of investment would come in large part from traditional government sources such as bonds. However the success of Ping An Insurance Company’s investment in the Beijing-Shanghai railway project over the past year has suggested insurance capital could again play a role. Rules governing insurance companies’ investments have recently been updated allowing them to put their money in non-listed companies, including infrastructure projects.