Canada welcomes China's designation of insurance business

OTTAWA -- Canadian Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty Wednesday welcomed an agreement with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission that designates Canada as a destination for Chinese insurance wealth management business.

Commenting on the exchange of letters on the agreement on Wednesday, Flaherty said that this agreement demonstrates a great deal of confidence in Canada's economic prospects and the soundness of Canada's financial system.

This is the third agreement reached under China's Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) program, which allows approved institutional investors in China, including banks, fund management companies and insurance firms, to invest funds pooled from their mainland clients in approved overseas financial markets.

So far, China's three financial sector regulatory commissions, for banking, insurance and securities, have shared responsibility for the program.

Previously, the banking and securities commissions had approved Canada as an investment destination for Chinese banks and securities houses. The latest agreement marks the final step in concluding agreements under the QDII program.

Flaherty hailed Canada's growing economic partnership with China, noting that China was Canada's only major trading partner to increase its imports of Canadian goods last year.

In the past five years, Canada's exports to China have surged nearly 55 percent, and China is now Canada's second largest merchandise trading partner and its third largest export market.