Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce firm Alibaba, is among the investors to have committed RMB1bn ($150m) to a new China-based mutual insurance association, China Money Network reported today.
Xinmei Life Mutual Insurance Association is one of only three mutual insurance associations to have ever secured approval from the Chinese state, which passed a law in February 2015 permitting their establishment.
The company secured the capital from Ant Financial and seven other backers including Tianhong Asset Management, a direct investment subsidiary of securities firm Sinolink Securities.
Xinemi’s licence application in September 2015 listed dietary supplement producer By-Health, travel service Tempus Global, payment services provider Xinguodo and medical diagnostics company Bohui Innovation as equity partners, stating they would hold a combined 19.5% of the entity.
China currently stands as the third largest insurance market worldwide, and mutual insurance premiums made up 27% of the international insurance market, as of the end of 2014. Ant Financial made the investment as part of a wider strategy to expand its range of services.