Regulatory Commission facilitates M&A

The Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has announced that insurance companies can now engage in mergers and acquisitions with more than one insurer operating in the same branch..

The new rules will take effect on June 1, 2014. Equity participation in companies operating on the same branch was previously limited to a competitor. Nevertheless, the external financing of mergers and acquisitions remains controlled.

The measure marks a new step in the gradual liberalization of an estimated 288 billion USD market.