Insurers allowed to invest more in bonds

Yielding to the lobbying by Chinese insurers in search of higher investment returns, China is allowing insurers to increase their investments from 20% to up to 30% of total assets in domestic corporate bonds and short-term bills, the AFP reported, citing the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. According to the CIRC rules, insurers can only invest in bonds issued by firms with good credit ratings and must limit investment in a single firm to 10% of their total assets. Investment in treasury bonds and debt issued by policy banks have no restrictions.