China's insurance regulator paid 576.77 million yuan (US$76.2 million) to boost its stake in New China Life Insurance as the biggest shareholder in the firm.

Orient Group Incorporation Co sold its 96.29 million shares in New China Life to the insurance protection fund at 5.99 yuan each, the Heilongjiang Province-based Orient Group said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange today.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission, which runs the fund, will hold about 30.55 percent of New China Life after the deal.

The insurance regulator had already owned 22.53 percent of New China Life after buying stakes from three different shareholders for a total of about 1.6 billion yuan on earlier media reports.

The regulator used money from an eight billion yuan insurance protection fund to buy the stake in the country's fourth-biggest insurer. It marks the first time the regulator used the money to buy a stake in an insurer. The money is designed to help policy holders if an insurer goes bankrupt or faces huge problems.

The insurance regulator's use of the fund to gain a controlling stake in New China Life is widely eyed as a link to Guan Guoliang, former chairman of the Beijing-based insurer, who the regulator is investigating for alleged misuse of almost 13 billion yuan.

The shareholders which CIRC bought shares from have a close relationship with Guan, who showed resistance on cooperation with regulators.

The stake deal is aimed to cut Guan's involvement in the insurer.

New China Life, set up in 1996, has three foreign investors: Zurich Financial owns 18.9 percent, Meiji Life Insurance Co 4.5 percent and International Financial Corp 1.5 percent. The balance is held by 12 domestic companies.

Orient Group earned 308.89 million yuan from the transaction, the company said.