China insurance watchdog bars Evergrande Life from stock investing for one year

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The punishment comes a day after the regulator banned tycoon Yao Zhenhua from the insurance sector for 10 years

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CIRC has been cracking down on risky investments by some insurers in listed companies. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Laura He

Published: 5:45pm, 26 Feb 2017Updated: 10:57pm, 26 Feb 2017

China’s top insurance regulator has punished a second company in just two days for short-term speculation, suspending the insurance arm of leading property developer Evergrande Group from trading in stocks for one year.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said on Saturday in a statement on its website that Evergrande Life was being punished due to “its irregular use of insurance funds in stock investing” from January to November last year. In particular, the company’s “short-term speculation” between late September and early November has caused “grave social consequences”.

The watchdog singled out two executives they found to be directly responsible for the wrongdoing - Liu Hao, then-board secretary and deputy general manager of Evergrade Life and Lv Hailong, then-director of stock investing at the life insurer’s Investment Management Centre. It banned them from the insurance sector for five and three years respectively.

In addition, the CIRC lowered the cap on the insurer’s equity investment to 20 per cent of its total assets and ordered the dismissal of two other people it deemed responsible for the wrongdoing.

According to current rules, insurance companies are allowed to invest up to 30 per cent of their total assets in equities.

The action against Evergrande Life came just one day after the regulator banned Yao Zhenhua, chairman of Foresea Life, from the insurance sector for 10 years and ordered he be dismissed from his post as the company had “fabricated and provided fake data” and “used insurance funds against regulations”.