The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) on Thursday issued new stringent rules on the establishment of insurance assets management companies.
Meanwhile, it has adjusted the Provisionary Rules on Management of Insurance Assets Management Companies issued in 2004.
Under the new rules, an insurance assets management company should be started by insurance groups or companies.
The total assets of the initiated insurance company should be no less than 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 million), up from the previous requirement of 5 billion yuan.
The new rules also require that the solvency ratio of the initiator insurance groups or companies should be no less than 150 per cent.
CIRC has raised the minimum required registered capital of an insurance assets management company to 100 million yuan from current 30 million yuan.
At the same time, insurance assets management companies’ allowable business activities have been broadened to include managing RMB and foreign currency capital and insurance assets management products, and are no longer restricted to their shareholders’ and associated insurers’ insurance capital.
Analysts said that the new rules will encourage insurance assets companies to transform themselves into comprehensive financial assets management companies.
