China plans to widen the investment scope for its insurers by opening the real estate market for insurance capital, as limited investment channels and surging premium income bring heavier investment pressure, Monday's Wall Street Journal reported.

Wu Dingfu, chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said Monday that in the second half of this year insurance investment will be expanded "steadily" into the property sector and stocks of unlisted companies, according to the report.

The new insurance law, which became effective last October, allows insurance capital to invest in property, but specific rules are yet to come out. Wu said on Jan 21 that insurance capital was prohibited from investing in residential housing projects and commercial real estate, and from participating in real estate development.

China's insurance premiums rose 33.6 percent to 799.9 billion yuan ($118 billion) in the first half from a year earlier. And an estimated 2 trillion yuan from new premium income needs to be invested this year.

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