Insurers barred from debt guarantees
THE insurance regulator has banned insurance firms from providing guarantees for debt incurred by other companies, in a bid to reduce operational risks.
The China Insurance Regulatory Commission said all insurers must submit reports on whether they had engaged in such practices by the end of March, according to new rules published on its Web site. Insurance firms that had provided guarantees for other companies debts must terminate the arrangements before June 30, 2011, it said.
The move aimed to curb operational risks and close the loopholes for fund embezzlement following a rise in business irregularities related to debt guarantees, analysts said. The agency said the new rule did not apply to guarantees for export credit insurance companies.
Chinese firm to build luxury helicopters
A CHINESE motor manufacturer had acquired licenses from regulatory authorities to build luxury helicopters using technology from Eurocopter, sources told Xinhua on Friday.
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) had approved Zhong-Ou International Group, which is based in East China s Zhejiang Province, for assembling helicopters, company chairman Wu Guolin said. A sample helicopter was expected to run off the assembly line by the end of this year, Wu said.
