New asset management company marks continued opening-up of insurance sector

ICBC-AXA Asset Management Co, China's first asset management company established by a joint venture insurer, is slated to start business operations in the first half of 2019, according to a company executive on Wednesday.

After nearly a year of preparation, the subsidiary of Shanghai-based ICBC-AXA Life Insurance Co is the latest answer to China's ongoing liberalization of the insurance sector, said company chairman Ma Jian.

Shanghai's ambition to become a global financial center, its sound infrastructure, vast talent pool and strong government support have made the city "the best choice" to host such a pioneering facility, Ma said.

The asset management company, which received its regulatory greenlight last May, will primarily be engaged in managing yuan and foreign currency funds entrusted by its clients, managing and utilizing its own yuan and foreign currency funds, and carrying out insurance asset management product business.

China is currently on course to loosen the cap on foreign ownership in joint ventures to attract more foreign funds to its financial market. The government had previously pledged to lift the limit from 50 percent to 51 percent in the insurance sector in three years and fully remove it after five years.

Founded in 2012, ICBC-AXA Life Insurance Co is a joint venture between French insurer AXA Group, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the State-owned China Minmetals Corp.