(Yicai) June 18 -- Global insurance giants AIA Group and Aegon Group have received the green light to set up insurance asset management subsidiaries in Shanghai. These will be the city’s first wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management companies, reinforcing Shanghai’s status as an international financial hub.

Hong Kong’s AIA will establish its new asset management company through its mainland subsidiary, AIA Life Insurance, while Hague-based Aegon will fund the setting up of this Shanghai branch through direct investment, Li Yunze, director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, said at the opening of the 2025 Lujiazui Forum today.

The approval reflects AIA’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market and highlights the success of China’s high-level opening up of its financial sector, The Paper reported, citing Shanghai-based AIA Life.

The new company will focus on managing AIA’s insurance funds more efficiently, offering specialized and refined investment management services, and expanding its long-term investment capabilities, AIA Life added.

AIA Life was restructured from AIA’s Shanghai branch and opened for business in 2020, becoming the first wholly foreign-owned life insurer on the mainland.

China has been steadily opening up its financial markets in recent years, easing restrictions on international firms operating in the country. German insurer Allianz was the first to set up a wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management firm on the mainland in 2021, followed by US giant Prudential Financial, which opened a similar company in Beijing in February.

Regulators will soon roll out more practical measures to support Shanghai’s growth as a global financial hub, Li said. These include encouraging innovative pilot projects in areas such as fintech and cross-border finance, as well as supporting eligible national banks to set up financial asset investment companies in the city.

Editor: Kim Taylor