PING An Insurance (Group) Co has received regulatory approval to invest as much as 15 percent of total assets overseas, the insurer said yesterday.
The Shenzhen-based insurer has won approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to invest in Hong Kong's stock market and major stake investment projects, Ping An said yesterday in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Ping An reported 441.8 billion yuan (US$59.7 billion) of total assets at the end of last year. The 15-percent cap means Ping An can invest up to 66.27 billion yuan overseas.
The regulator last month allowed Ping An to begin buying Hong Kong stocks with up to five percent of its assets in the previous year.
China has allowed 20 insurers to invest overseas, mainly in the Hong Kong stock market, under the qualified domestic institutional investors scheme, the top insurance regulator said earlier.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.77 percent to 28,879.59 yesterday.
China introduced the QDII program last year to channel part of its mounting foreign exchange reserves and ease the flush of cash in the mainland stock market. China's foreign currency reserves topped US$1.43 trillion at the end of September.
Ping An Insurance said in late November that it paid 1.81 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) to become the single biggest shareholder of Fortis, marking the biggest overseas investment by a Chinese insurer. Ping An bought a 4.2-percent stake, or 95.01 million shares, in Fortis, Belgium's biggest financial company, on the Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam stock exchanges.
Ping An yesterday ended at 116.83 yuan, up 2.92 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.97 percent to 4,915.89.