MEASURES taken by Chinese insurers to stabilize the capital market have got the support of the insurance regulator.

Insurance capital is a long-term investment and insurers should stick to the principle that the investment is value-driven so that they can play the role of institutional investors to support the stable development of the capital market, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said yesterday on its Website.

Institutional investors including insurers are viewed as being long-term players unlike retail investors who may be more speculation-driven.

The global financial turmoil, which started in the United States, has cast a shadow on China's financial industry, the regulator said. The Chinese mainland's stock market was hard hit by the double whammy of a global credit crunch and the sell-off on the mainland market.

The regulator, which met the heads of China's largest state-controlled insurers on October 17 on how to respond to the financial crisis, ordered insurers to stabilize the stock market, the Financial Times said yesterday.