Ping An to invest US$9.7 billion overseas

Following a regulatory move that would allow insurance companies to invest in New York and London-listed stocks, Ping An Insurance said it would invest up to US$9.7 billion into overseas equities, the Wall Street Journal reported. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission said Thursday that it plans to allow insurance companies to invest in the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange while raising the cap for overseas investment to 15% of an insurer's assets from the current 5%. "Everyone wants to invest in China … But in terms of a 30-year investment period, concentrating only on China may not be the best way to go," said Louis Cheung, Ping An's president. Chinese stocks have doubled from last year, but returns from fixed-income products are still dissapointing. Ping An, the country's second-largest insurer by premiums after China Life, currently has US$2 billion invested abroad, but could raise that to 15% of its US$64.6 billion in assets when the new regulations take effect.