Sino Life gets approval to invest in HK stocks

Sino Life Insurance has received approval to invest on the Hong Kong stock market, becoming the first mainland insurer to do so, Reuters reported. The firm received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to invest in stocks abroad under new rules announced last month. Sino Life had total assets of US$1.32 billion in May. The CIRC announced in July that domestic insurers could invest 15% of their assets abroad, up from 5% previously, under the wide-ranging Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme, which includes banks and other financial institutions. Ping An Insurance, the country's second-largest insurer by premiums after China Life, announced plans in June to invest US$9.7 billion overseas.