Beijing wants domestic insurers to invest more in domestic banking and securities but it is also drafting new and more detailed rules for outward investment, the Financial Times reported. Insurers are expected to triple their assets by 2010 and premiums are expected to double, according to figures from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission quoted in the newspaper. Last year, total premiums rose 14% to US$62 billion. Insurance companies have been slow to make any sizeable domestic acquisitions. Restrictions limit their investments in stocks to 5% of their assets but many institutions are not reaching the limit. The government recently clarified rules that allow insurance companies to buy stakes in domestic banks and overseas securities.
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