China’s insurance regulator has called on three insurers to rectify their overseas ventures that reportedly breach the country’s investment rules.
The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) posted separate notices on its website, ordering Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, New China Life Insurance, and China Re Asset Management Company, to comply with regulations governing their overseas investments.
The insurers were given one month to make the needed corrections and were tasked to report back at the end of the period, according to a report by state media arm Xinhua.
According to the regulator, the three firms’ foreign investments were in violation of rules published in 2012, although it did not elaborate on the nature of the irregularities.
CIRC rules state that Chinese insurers can invest in 25 developed markets, including the US and Singapore, and 20 emerging markets such as Brazil and Indonesia. The CIRC has been very active in recent months, as China’s central government seeks to clean up the finance and insurance sectors and stamp out risk.
The move comes after the CIRC took control of Anbang Insurance Group and prosecuted the insurer’s chairman for numerous violations.