China’s Insurance Capital Investment Surges Past ¥36 Trillion, With Stock Holdings Hitting a Record High

China Insurance Capital Investment Overview (Q2 2025)

Metric	Value (RMB)	Value (USD)	Year-over-Year Growth
Total Capital Utilized	¥36.23 Trillion	$5.03 Trillion	17.4%

China’s insurance capital investment is experiencing a massive surge, and savvy investors are taking notice.

New data just dropped from the National Administration of Financial Regulation (Guojia Jinrong Jiandu Zongju 国家金融监督管理总局), and the numbers are staggering.

As of Q2 2025, the total war chest of funds managed by China’s insurance companies has blown past the ¥36 trillion RMB mark.

Let’s break down what’s happening, why it matters, and where all this money is flowing.

The Big Picture: A $5 Trillion Tsunami of Capital

The scale here is almost hard to comprehend.

The total balance of funds utilized by insurance companies hit ¥36.23 trillion RMB ($5.03 trillion USD) at the end of the second quarter.

• That’s a head-spinning 17.4% year-over-year growth.
• This isn’t just one part of the industry; both life insurance and property and casualty (P&C) companies are seeing major increases.

The real story, though, is where this capital is being deployed.

The Equity Gold Rush: Insurers Are Piling into Stocks

Chinese Insurers’ Stock Holdings (Q2 2025)

Category	Total Holdings (Trillion RMB)	Total Holdings (Billion USD)	% of Portfolio	Growth from Q1 (RMB)
Life Insurers	¥2.87	$399	8.81%	+¥200 Billion
P&C Insurers	¥0.1955	$27.15	8.33%	N/A
Combined Total	>¥3.0	>$416.7	N/A	N/A

While insurers are known for their conservative, bond-heavy strategies, a major shift is underway.

They are aggressively increasing their positions in the stock market.

Life Insurance Companies Lead the Charge

The giants of the industry are making big moves.

• Total Stock Holdings: A whopping ¥2.87 trillion RMB ($399 billion USD).
• Growth from Q1: An increase of over ¥200 billion RMB ($27.8 billion USD) in just one quarter.
• Growth Since Start of Year: Up by over ¥600 billion RMB ($83.4 billion USD).
• Share of Portfolio: Stock investments now make up 8.81% of their total funds, a multi-year high.

Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurers Follow Suit

The P&C side of the house is mirroring this bullish trend.

• Total Stock Holdings: Reached ¥195.5 billion RMB ($27.15 billion USD).
• Share of Portfolio: Stocks now represent 8.33% of their total funds.
• YoY Growth: This is a 1.84 percentage point increase from Q2 2024.

When you combine them, the total stock investment balance for all Chinese insurers has shot past ¥3 trillion RMB ($416.7 billion USD).

That’s an increase of nearly ¥1 trillion RMB ($138.9 billion USD) in just one year.

What’s Fueling This Stock Market Surge?

• Strong Equity Market Performance: A rising tide lifts all boats, making equity holdings more attractive.
• Low-Interest Rate Environment: Drives insurers to seek higher returns outside traditional low-yield assets.
• Supportive Government Policies: Encourages long-term investment (“long money, long investment”) in equities.

This isn’t happening in a vacuum. Three key factors are driving this accelerated push into equities.

1. Strong Equity Market Performance

   A rising tide lifts all boats. Strong performance in the stock market has directly led to unrealized profits, making equity holdings more attractive and valuable.

2. The Low-Interest Rate Squeeze

   The persistent low-interest rate environment, combined with the impact of new accounting standards, is forcing a rethink.

   When your “safe” low-yield assets can’t deliver the returns you need, you have to look for growth elsewhere. For insurers, that “elsewhere” is increasingly the stock market.

3. A Green Light from Policymakers

   The government is actively encouraging long-term investment. A series of policies designed to get “long money, long investment” into the market has expanded the scope for insurance capital to flow into equities.

Don’t Forget About Bonds: The Bedrock Asset

Chinese Insurers’ Bond Holdings (Q2 2025)

Category	Total Holdings (Trillion RMB)	Total Holdings (Trillion USD)	% of Portfolio (Life Insurers)
Combined Bond Holdings	¥17.87	$2.48	N/A
Life Insurance Bond Holdings	¥16.92	$2.35	51.90%

While the stock market action is grabbing headlines, it’s crucial to remember that bonds are still the foundation of these massive portfolios.

Insurers are steadily accumulating more bond assets.

• Combined Bond Holdings: Reached a massive ¥17.87 trillion RMB ($2.48 trillion USD).
• Life Insurance Bond Breakdown: These companies hold ¥16.92 trillion RMB ($2.35 trillion USD) in bonds, making it their largest single investment category at 51.90% of their total funds.

Why? It comes down to matching their long-term liabilities. Bonds provide the stable, predictable returns needed to cover future claims, making them the ultimate “safety net” asset.

Even with a potential re-imposition of value-added tax (VAT) on some bond interest income, analysts believe the impact will be limited and won’t change the fundamental role of bonds in these portfolios.

The Bottom Line: What’s Next for China’s Insurance Investors?

So, what does this all mean for the future?

The overall asset allocation for China’s insurance giants is expected to remain relatively stable, but with a clear, upward trend in one specific area.

• Bonds will remain the core, foundational asset.
• But the allocation to equity assets is projected to keep climbing.

This shift is a direct response to the long-term low-interest rate environment and favorable government policies.

In short, China’s insurance capital investment strategy is evolving right before our eyes, with a growing appetite for stocks that is reshaping how trillions of dollars are managed.

References

• 险资运用规模突破36万亿 股票投资创新高 – 证券时报 (Securities Times)
• Securities Times Official Website
• National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) – Official Website