China News Service, Beijing, December 10 (Reporter Wang Enbo) China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on the 10th publicly solicited opinions on the "Regulations on the Management of Insurance Asset Management Companies (Draft for Comment)."
This document proposes that there is no longer a limit on the proportion of foreign insurance companies holding shares in insurance asset management companies.
As the core managers of insurance funds, insurance asset management companies have become important participants in the Chinese financial market.
According to the person in charge of the relevant department of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, as of the end of the third quarter of 2021, 31 insurance asset management companies have opened operations, with a total asset management scale of approximately RMB 18.72 trillion through the issuance of insurance asset management products and entrusted management.
In response to problems such as lag, conflict, and gaps in the regulatory rules and regulations of the existing insurance asset management companies to a certain extent, the "Management Regulations" have undergone substantial revisions in terms of chapter structure and clause content.
For example, a special chapter on corporate governance has been newly added to comprehensively strengthen the regulatory constraints on corporate governance; risk management has been taken as a special chapter, and comprehensive supplements have been made in terms of risk management system, risk management requirements, internal control audits, etc.; the requirements for the design of equity structure have been optimized to provide insurance capital. Domestic and foreign insurance companies that manage the company’s shareholders are treated equally; optimize operating principles and related requirements, and further clarify prohibitions such as conducting channel business are strictly prohibited.
The aforementioned person in charge specifically mentioned that in terms of implementing the expansion of opening-up, on the one hand, the "Administrative Regulations" no longer restricts the upper limit of the proportion of foreign insurance companies holding shares in insurance asset management companies; on the other hand, it sets up a unified application for domestic and foreign shareholders. Qualifications are not treated differently due to domestic and foreign differences, which will help better attract international outstanding insurance companies and asset management institutions to participate in the development of China's insurance asset management industry.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission stated that the "Administrative Regulations" take into account the current development problems of insurance asset management companies and the development direction for a period of time in the future, provide space for market operation and differentiated development of insurance asset management companies, and help guide and promote insurance. The standardized operation of asset management companies is conducive to better meeting the management needs of insurance funds, etc., and is conducive to providing more medium and long-term financial support for the high-quality development of the real economy.
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