(Yicai Global) Sept. 23 -- Courier STO Express plans to set up a life insurer in China, which is tipped to become the world's largest insurance market within two decades, in partnership with Weibo, the operator of the Twitter-like social media app of the same name, tech titan Sina and four other firms.

The newly formed underwriter, Sina Life Insurance, will be headquartered in Ningbo and have a registered capital of CNY1.5 billion (USD211 million, Shanghai-based STO said in a Sept. 20 statement. STO will own 12 percent of the JV, while Beijing Weimeng Chuangke Network Technology, which will run it, will invest CNY450 million for a 30 percent stake.

STO plans to participate in setting up Sina Life as part of its diversified strategy to build business segments such as express, international, financial, data and supply chain, according to the statement, which added approval for the new company is still pending from the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

China is the biggest insurance market after the US, garnering CNY3.8 trillion (USD534 billion) in original premiums revenue last year. In the first four months of this year, such income jumped 15 percent to CNY1.9 trillion from a year earlier, according to the Insurance Association of China.

The other three firms investing in Sina Life are China Yintai Holdings, Ningbo Heyuan Holding and Beijing Wufang Tianya Group. STO's statement did not state their respective holdings in the JV.

Editor: Ben Armour