Key takeaways

• On November 10, 2017, China announced that it will substantially relax foreign ownership limits in life insurance companies and other financial institutions.
• The current 50% limit on foreign ownership in Chinese life insurance companies will be raised to 51% in three years from the current 50%, and all foreign ownership restrictions in the Chinese life insurance sector will be removed entirely in five years.
• The announcement marks a significant development for foreign investment in the Chinese financial sector, a sensitive industry from which foreign investors have been largely sidelined for decades due to strict foreign ownership restrictions.