Top Biz News

Insurers follow route of banks to domestic IPO

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-12 09:17

Insurers collected total premiums of 564.1 billion yuan last year, up 14.4 percent from 2005. The total assets of the industry topped 1.97 trillion yuan at the end of December, up 29 percentyear on year.

Premiums are expected to top one trillion yuan by 2010 with total industry assets topping five trillion yuan by the same time.

Nine new insurers launched last year, boosting the country's total to 98 firms.

Insurers are using different ways to boost capital. Last year, 31 insurers added 12.7 billion yuan in capital while three others sold a total of 5.3 billion yuan in subordinate bonds.

In June, the State Council created a blueprint supporting the development of the country's insurance sector.

The sector has also had an impact on the economy.

It has helped stabilize people's expectations about the future and boosted consumption, said Premier Wen Jiabao.

China's insurance sector accounted for 2.8 percent of the country's economy last year while the average figure around the world is eight percent.

Thus, it's not a surprise to see more insurers list to improve corporate governance and introduce oversight from public shareholders. After all, listing is a means to an end not a final destination, said Qiu Zhicheng, a Haitong Securities Co analyst.