China has opened a new area of alternative investments to the country’s insurance companies, giving them a wider range of options to boost returns after enduring several difficult years.
Chinese insurers will now be allowed to invest in high-yielding wealth management and trust products as well as asset-backed securities, some of the more profitable but also riskier investments available in China.
In the past Chinese regulators had sought to limit risk-taking by insurers, largely confining their investments to equities, ultra-safe bonds and bank deposits. But that approach has proved dangerous as insurers’ investment profits have dwindled and they have struggled to attract new customers.