Aviva JV to Offer Investment-linked Insurance Products

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said it has given approval to Aviva-Cofco Life Insurance Co Ltd to launch four insurance products linked to stock investment.

Aviva-Cofco Life is a 50-50 joint venture between UK insurer Aviva PLC and COFCO Ltd, China's leading oil and food importer and exporter.

Separately, Taiping Life Insurance Co, a unit of Hong Kong-based China Insurance (Holdings) Co Ltd, also won approval to launch six investment-linked insurance products.

Insurance companies, especially foreign insurers, are increasingly seeking to launch investment-style products in China at a time when the stock market is booming.

In the past three months, the CIRC has given similar approvals to more than 10 insurers, including joint ventures by ING Group, CIGNA Corp and Italy's Assicurazioni Generali SpA, as well as AIA, a unit of American International Group Inc (AIG).

CIRC data show that China's insurance sector raised 9.63 bln yuan from the sale of investment-linked products in the first six months of this year, with foreign insurers recording growth of 720 pct, compared with 190 pct growth by domestic insurers.