China’s foreign exchange regulators are struggling to stem the flow of personal wealth spilling offshore via Hong Kong’s insurance industry, the latest results from the world’s second-largest insurer suggest.
Yesterday AIA Group said that the value of new business in the territory increased by 60 per cent to $537m in the first six months of the year, noting a “substantial uplift in new business from mainland Chinese customers”.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has attempted this year to close off channels that allow people to move large sums of money offshore, including the use of Chinese-issued credit cards to buy expensive insurance policies abroad.