(Yicai Global) July 4 -- Ruizhong Life Insurance has been given the regulatory green light to start business, taking over Huaxia Life Insurance, a troubled insurer seized by Chinese financial regulators in 2020, and becoming the country's largest insurer by registered capital.

Beijing-based Ruizhong Life and its subsidiaries were cleared to open for business by the National Administration of Financial Regulation yesterday. It has a registered capital of CNY56.5 billion (USD7.8 billion), more than the People's Insurance Company Group of China’s CNY44.2 billion.

Regulators approved Ruizhong Life’s creation in February to take over the assets and liabilities of Huaxia Life, including its 661 branches and staff, after they seized four insurers with seriously insufficient solvency, of which Huaxia Life was the biggest, in July 2020. Huaxia Life had premiums of CNY253.5 billion (USD35 billion) last year, ranking third among domestic life insurers.

Jiuzhou Qihang Fund, an equity investment fund partnership in Beijing, owns 60 percent of Ruizhong Life, while China Insurance Security Fund owns the rest, a document published yesterday by the NAFR showed. 

Jiuzhou Qihang is a China Life Insurance-initiated industry fund jointly financed by China Life and 10 other insurers. The government set up China Insurance Security to deal with insurance risks.

Zhao Lijun will step in as Ruizhong LIfe's chairperson, while Zhao Songlai will be its general manager, according to the document. Both served as executives at China Life and were involved in the custodianship of Huaxia Life.

From the other insurers seized by the regulators, Yi'an Property and Casualty Insurance was acquired by BYD in May, becoming a unit of the electric vehicle giant. Tianan Life Insurance will be controlled by Zhonghui Life, which was approved to open for business last month, while the situation with Tianan Property Insurance remains unclear.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev