CHINA SEEKS TOUGHER LINE FROM INSURERS' INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS

China's insurance regulator, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission , wants the independent directors of insurance companies to make greater use of their powers of scrutiny and constraint, to balance major shareholders' activities and protect the interest of small shareholders and the insured, said the CIRC chairman Wu Dingfu on November 14.

Wu pointed out that some major shareholders in insurance companies have embezzled companies' funds through illegal affiliated transactions and excessive issuing of dividends.

He urged independent board directors to take their responsibilities to constrain major shareholders' activities and oversee the management team, to prevent major shareholders from appropriating companies' funds or taking advantage of insider information.

According to Wu, China's insurance industry has a better-than-expected performance in the first three quarters of this year.

The industry realized premiums of 858.03 billion yuan (US$125.7 billion) from January to September, an increase of 8.1 per cent year on year; the industry's total assets hit 3.8 trillion yuan by the end of September, rising 18.9 per cent over the beginning of this year.

Wu said that the industry's top seven life insurers' new business value totaled 24.53 billion yuan in the first half of this year, increasing 47.4 per cent year on year.