(Yicai) Sept. 11 -- China has lowered the risk factor of some financial products, including constituents of the China Securities Index 300, for insurance investments to support the stable and healthy development of the capital market, as insurers can inject more money into it.

The National Administration of Financial Regulation announced yesterday that it will cut the risk factor of the CSI 300 to 0.3 from 0.35, that of ordinary stocks listed on Shanghai's Nasdaq-like Star Market to 0.4 from 0.45, and that for publicly-offered real estate investment trusts to 0.5 from 0.6.

The constituents of the CSI 300 are blue-chip stocks, or the core assets with the most stable economic structure, the relevant person in charge of China Life Asset Management told Yicai, adding that the Star Market supports the strategic guidance on national science and technology innovation. Reducing the risk factor of REITs is of certain significance to boost the market of innovative products, they noted.

After the move, the minimum capital occupied by People's Insurance Company of China Property and Casualty's investment in the constituents of the CSI 300 will be reduced by about CNY1.6 billion (USD218.6 million), which will help the company to further increase investment in these areas, President Yu Ze said.

In yesterday's notice, the NAFR also expressed its support for scientific and technological innovation firms. The risk factor for investing in unlisted companies in national strategic emerging industries is now 0.4. The risk factor of science and technology insurance products will be the same as that of property insurance products and have a solvency adequacy ratio of 90 percent.

Science and technology insurance products are quasi-public products that compensate high-investment and high-risk science and technology innovation enterprises for their losses and provide a strong guarantee for their independent innovation.

This is the first time China has defined the capital requirements for technology insurance, stipulating that its risk factor should be the same as that of property insurance, giving a 10 percent capital discount, and reducing the capital occupied by technology insurance products, said Zheng Sujin, a professor at the School of Insurance of Central University of Finance and Economics.

Editor: Futura Costaglione