China has unveiled a major initiative to channel hundreds of billions of yuan annually from state-owned insurers into equities, marking the latest effort by authorities to stabilize and support the country’s stock markets.
Wu Qing, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), announced that in the first half of 2025, insurers will be required to invest at least 100 billion yuan ($13.75 billion) in long-term stock holdings.
- the regulator will encourage both state-owned and commercial insurers to allocate 30% of new annual premiums into A-shares
- mutual funds will also be urged to boost their tradable A-share holdings by at least 10% annually over the next three years
The initiative extends beyond direct investments, with fund managers encouraged to expand equity fund offerings, reduce fund sales fees, and promote exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to attract more capital into the market.
China’s CSI 300 blue-chip index, Shanghai Composite Index, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong all rose.
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