China will grant foreign insurance companies national treatment at the end of this year by relaxing the control on their business scope and areas, said a state insurance regulator Friday in Beijing.

Wu Xiaoping, vice-chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission, made the remarks at the ongoing 2nd International Finance Forum Annual Conference.

As of December, China will allow foreign life insurance companies to provide health insurance, group insurance and enterprise pension insurance service to Chinese individuals, and China will no longer limit the business areas of foreign insurance companies, said Wu.

Official statistics from China Insurance Regulatory Commission show that foreign insurance companies account for half of the insurance companies in China. From 1999 to 2003, their total assets increased 3.5 times while their premiums increased 2.7 times. They occupy more than 10 percent of the market share in booming cities like Shanghai Municipality and Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

Wu said foreign insurance companies have introduced advanced operation mechanisms and ideas to their Chinese counterparts and helped domestic insurance companies improve their performance.

He said China would continue to regularize the operation of both the domestic and foreign insurance companies in line with the related laws and regulations and provide a good environment for their development.

He said China would make use of both the international market and domestic market to promote the internationalization of the Chinese insurance industry.

Source: Xinhua