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Beijing, Dec. 5 (PTI): China today promised to honour its pledge to the international community in opening up its insurance sector to foreign competition, but ruled out allowing solely-funded overseas ventures.

The insurance agent business in China will be liberalised at the end of this year, an official with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), the industry watchdog, said.

Foreign investors will be able to set up their own insurance agent companies, including insurance brokerages, notarisation and appraisal businesses, from the end of 2006, Meng Zhaoyi, head of the CIRC’s international department, said.

However, foreign investors cannot solely fund a life insurance company in China, Meng was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.

The 50 per cent limit on foreign stakes in a life insurance company has not been changed, he stressed.

Since China joined the WTO five years ago, 47 foreign insurance companies have set up 121 branches in China, with 135 more establishing 200 representative offices in China.

Revenues of foreign insurance companies in China amounted to 34.1 billion yuan ($4.35 billion) in 2005, nine times more than in 2001.

Foreign insurance companies had a 7 per cent market share in China at the end of 2005, up from 5.3 per cent in 2001. However, they have 19 per cent of the market in Beijing in 2005 and 17 per cent in Shanghai.