By the end of April, China's total insurance assets had surpassed one trillion yuan (US$125 billion), according to a source from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Experts said the rapid development of insurance assets can be attributed to four reasons, namely, the fast development of China's national economy, the reform completion of state-owned insurance companies, capital expansion of insurance companies, and the increase in the number of foreign insurance companies in China.

From January to April this year, China's premiums reached 155.4 billion yuan (US$18 billion). In 2003, China Life and the People's Insurance Company of China were listed successfully, which helped increase total insurance assets.

By the end of April, the premiums of foreign insurance companies in China reached 2.9 billion yuan (US$0.3 billion), up about 56 percent compared with the previous year.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2004)