Insurers will need injection of cash, S&P says

BEIJING - Chinese insurers will need more than 110 billion yuan ($17 billion) of external funding to fuel their rapid development in the next three years, insurance analysts from Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday.

"This is particularly true for non-life insurers, given their relatively low capitalization," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Connie Wong said.

Based on 2010 financial figures, at least eight Chinese non-life insurers had an indicative ratio of less than 30 percent, which is low compared with international peers. And capital injections of 82 billion yuan would mean a more respectable 40 percent ratio with an assumed premium growth of 15 percent over three years, according to Standard & Poor's.