Regulators Trying to Steer Insurance Sector Back to Basics

(Beijing) — Encouraging the nation’s insurance companies to focus on the business they know best — and not high-stakes investing — is a key objective behind proposed new government rules aimed at better controlling the industry.

The rules, drafted by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) and announced Thursday, would lower the ceiling on a majority shareholder’s stake in an insurance company to one-third of the insurer’s total equity shares. The current limit is 51%.