Insurance institutions in China will soon be allowed to invest in a broader field, according to the country's insurance regulator.

Insurance companies will have a chance to invest in short-term bonds issued by companies and other institutions, renminbi bonds issued by international development institutions and some negotiable securities, according to Wei Yingning, vice chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

They will also be allowed to indirectly invest in state infrastructure projects, he said at an international symposium on the management system of insurance assets, Wei said at an international workshop on insurance assets management in Beijing Friday.

Currently, insurance institutions can only channel their funds to savings deposits, bonds, funds and stocks.

Wei said that the commission was working on a framework on the management of insurance funds so that consigners and consignees would have clear-cut liabilities and a legalized relationship.

The aggregated assets of China's insurance industry reached 1.36 trillion yuan (US$163.4 billion) by May, up 14.1 percent from the beginning of the year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2005)