CBIRC okays majority shares for foreign firms

Foreign firms in joint-venture life insurance companies will now be allowed to hold majority shares, according to a revised regulation in China’s insurance market.

The new regulation by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) increased the limit of foreign shares in joint-venture life insurance companies to 51 percent, paving the way for more foreign investment.

The revised version also eliminated requirements on foreign insurance firms to have set up representative offices for two years in China and have stayed in operation in insurance for 30 years before they enter the Chinese market, stated a Xinhua report.

Branches of foreign-invested insurance firms are now subject to the same set of rules as Chinese ones, according to the new regulation.

The CBIRC pledged to improve oversight and risk management capacity for further opening-up.