The process of Shanghai's high-level financial opening-up has gained another significant milestone. On January 28, AIA Insurance Asset Management Co., Ltd. (AIA Insurance Asset Management) and Aegon Asset Management Co., Ltd. (Aegon Insurance Asset Management), two wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management companies, commenced operations simultaneously.
Concurrently, the expansion of insurance asset management companies "directly established" by foreign institutions is expected to accelerate. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Pilot Tasks for Expanding the Opening Up of the Service Industry in Dalian and 8 Other Cities" (Pilot Tasks), which explicitly states the exploration of supporting overseas insurance institutions to directly establish insurance asset management companies in Shenzhen.
As a crucial component of the financial sector's opening-up, the liberalization of the insurance industry has consistently received high-level attention. Industry insiders believe that foreign insurance asset management institutions increasing their investment in the Chinese market also signals their optimism about the vast opportunities within China's insurance sector and their confidence in its future development.
The two foreign insurance institutions opened for business rapidly. On January 28, AIA Insurance Asset Management and Aegon Insurance Asset Management, two newly established wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management institutions, held a collective opening ceremony in Shanghai, becoming the first such foreign-owned companies to commence operations in the city.
Looking back, in June 2025, at the Lujiazui Forum, Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), stated that the NFRA had recently approved AIA Life Insurance and Aegon to prepare for the establishment of insurance asset management companies in Shanghai. The journey from regulatory approval for preparation in June to the Shanghai Financial Regulatory Bureau granting approval for operation took only about half a year. This speed underscores the results of high-level financial opening-up and the continuous optimization of the business environment.
In recent years, the achievements of high-level opening-up in China's financial sector have become increasingly evident in the insurance asset management field. In 2021, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) approved Allianz (China) Insurance Holding to prepare for establishing an insurance asset management company, marking the country's first wholly foreign-owned insurance asset manager and initiating the full-scale foreign layout in China's asset management market. In October 2024, at the Financial Street Forum annual conference, the NFRA announced its approval for Prudential Financial Inc. to establish an insurance asset management company in Beijing.
The policy level is further dismantling entry barriers. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce's issued Pilot Tasks mentioned exploring support for overseas insurance institutions to directly establish insurance asset management companies in Shenzhen, under the principles of legality, compliance, risk controllability, and commercial sustainability.
It is understood that the traditional path for foreign institutions to establish insurance asset management companies in China previously mostly followed a "two-step" process: the foreign shareholder would first register or take a stake in an insurance company within mainland China, and then contribute capital to establish the asset management company. Apart from the recently opened Aegon Insurance Asset Management, the other three wholly foreign-owned companies—Allianz Asset Management, Prudential Asset Management, and AIA Insurance Asset Management—all followed this model. The Pilot Tasks specifically emphasize the "direct establishment" model by overseas insurance institutions.
From the perspective of Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, on one hand, foreign institutions no longer need to establish a domestic insurance subsidiary as a prerequisite, allowing them to set up wholly-owned insurance asset management platforms with lower costs and shorter timeframes, significantly improving market entry efficiency. On the other hand, the direct establishment model facilitates the quicker and more complete transplantation of global asset allocation experience, risk control systems, and product innovation capabilities into the Chinese market, enhancing strategic flexibility.
A significant "catfish effect" is anticipated. Currently, China's asset management market is valued at tens of trillions of yuan. The "China Insurance Asset Management Industry Development Report (2025)" released by the Insurance Asset Management Association of China mentioned that as of the end of 2024, the 34 insurance asset management companies managed a combined total of 33.3 trillion yuan in assets, a year-on-year increase of 10.6%.
Industry insiders believe that the establishment of wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management companies not only allows foreign institutions to participate more deeply in China's asset management market but also helps introduce international experience, enrich product systems, and further enhance the specialization and internationalization of China's insurance asset management industry.
Discussing the impact of foreign insurance asset management institutions entering the market, Fu Yifu stated that, on one hand, foreign institutions possess rich experience in managing long-term asset portfolios, such as target-date retirement funds and whole-lifecycle products, which could help address shortcomings in the domestic application of long-term funds. On the other hand, foreign institutions have professional advantages in alternative asset investment and financing, including infrastructure, private equity, and real estate, which can diversify the spectrum of domestic insurance asset management products. These differentiated advantages are expected to pressure local institutions to accelerate advancements in professional capability building and product innovation.
As industry analysts suggest, the entry of foreign capital is not merely about "dividing the pie" but aims to invigorate the entire ecosystem through a "catfish effect"—forcing reforms through competition and promoting integration through cooperation, ultimately propelling China's insurance asset management industry towards higher levels of specialization, marketization, and internationalization.