More dismissals

Insurance firms in China were ordered to dismiss 105 executives last year, up almost 3 percent from 2007, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said yesterday.

The commission imposed administrative punishment in 853 cases last year, up 2.77 percent year-on-year, with fines of up to 34.67 million yuan (US$5.07 million), up 13.48 percent, said Pei Guang, deputy director of the commission's inspection bureau. The penalties involved cases of deceptive sales, false data, embezzlement of premiums, fictitious business expenses and other offenses, according to the regulator.