PBoC allows Chinese insurers to sell interbank bonds

Chinese insurance companies may now sell bonds in the country’s interbank bond market, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the People’s Bank of China. Under the change, insurers could sell debt with maturities of at least five years in the interbank market, with buyers of the bonds ranking ahead of shareholders but behind other bond investors in the hierarchy of creditors in the event of a bankruptcy. The central bank said the measure would strengthen insurers’ financial positions and deepen China’s interbank market by introducing more investment options.