Top financial regulator plans more steps to open insurance sector

China's top financial regulator plans to launch a new round of legislative amendments to further promote the insurance market, the Economic Information Daily reported on Tuesday.

The details of administrative Regulations for Foreign-funded Insurance Companies has been modified, and will be released shortly, said the report.

In 2019, at least five foreign insurance companies have been approved to increase their investment with the money accumulated rising to more than 2 billion yuan.

Moreover, more than 10 foreign insurance institutions have been given green light to enhance stakes and build provincial-level branches.

The middle- and high-end health insurance sector will become the investment priority for these foreign insurers.

The country's insurance sector will be further opened up.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission is working on a new round of opening-up measures, said the regulator's deputy chairman Wang Zhaoxing at a forum on March.

Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, proposed 12 new opening-up measures on financial sector in April, with five of them related to insurance.

Later speaking at a financial forum in Shanghai in May, Guo said China will further open-up the financial sector, including banking, insurance, securities and trust, and the country welcomes high-level foreign asset management organizations to raise renminbi funding to invest in the renminbi market.

On June 5, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released a statement that canceled the examination and approval to insurers' capital on the exchange settlement, and implemented settlement system based on insurers' willingness.

China has become a high-profile and potential market. The Economic Information Daily citing sigma report from Swiss Re said the country will be the world's largest insurance market by mid-2030s. German insurer Allianz also predicted China will continue to lead the global insurance market, and the premium size will increase at annual 14 percent in next 10 years.

China's insurance market is promising growth and foreign investors are upbeat on the market, said Wang Xiangnan, secretary-general of Research Center for Insurance and Economic Development under Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Foreign insurance companies increased their original insurance premium income by 1.78 percentage points year-on-year to 6.84 percent in the first four months of this year, according to data from the Insurance Association of China.