The amount of funds raised by Chinese insurance companies surged by about 290% to CNY211bn ($29.7bn) in 2023 from CNY54bn in 2022.
The need for financing has increased for insurers which have to meet stricter solvency rules implemented since January 2022, reported the business news site Yicai which calculated the total funds raised based on data released by the National Administration of Financial Regulation.
The authorities approved 44 bond and share sales by insurers in 2023. Twenty-one bond sales brought in CNY171bn, while share issues raised CNY40bn. Some insurers, such as China Pacific Property Insurance, used both modes to boost their capital. The Shanghai-based company sold CNY10bn of bonds and boosted its share capital by CNY478m.
As the three-year transitional period for the adoption of the new solvency rules will end on 31 December 2025 at the latest, many insurers are expected to go on issuing bonds to ease capital pressures, according to Guotai Junan Securities.
