China further opens banking, insurance sectors

BEIJING — China on April 27 rolled out a set of measures to open its financial sector wider to the world, including expanding business scopes of foreign-funded banks.

The new rules will allow foreign-funded banks to conduct business such as the underwriting of government bonds, and will lift foreign ownership limits on banks and financial asset management firms, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said in an online statement.

Foreign-funded insurance brokers will have the same business scope as their Chinese counterparts, according to the statement.

The measures are in line with plans disclosed by authorities at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference earlier this month.

As part of the country’s broader opening-up push, China will encourage foreign investors to enter its trust, financial leasing, auto finance, money brokerage, and consumer finance sectors, a move that will take effect before the end of this year, China’s central bank governor Yi Gang said at the conference.

Foreign businesses will be allowed to own up to 51 percent of shares in life insurance joint ventures, and the cap will be phased out over three years, he said.

The CBIRC will implement these measures as soon as possible, the statement said.