Yicai Global) Dec. 25 -- China has in principle given the green light to Switzerland's Chubb to merge its Chinese property insurance business with China's Huatai Property & Casualty Insurance to build an international property insurer, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

Chubb decided to pursue a merger after its acquisition of a controlling stake in Huatai Insurance Group was approved in June. In China, one shareholder is not allowed to control two insurance companies of the same type.

Last November, Chubb, the world’s largest listed property and casualty insurer, revealed its plan to buy a 22.4 percent stake in Huatai Insurance for CNY10.8 billion (USD1.7 billion), making the target firm the first domestic insurer to be transformed into a foreign one. So far, Chubb's shareholding has reached 46.2 percent.

Huatai Property & Casualty Insurance's predecessor was founded in 1996. The Beijing-based financial company currently has CNY4 billion (USD620 million) in registered capital, according to its website.

Chubb has more than USD181 billion in assets. It reported USD40 billion in gross premiums written in 2019.

Editor: Emmi Laine