China's insurance regulator is drafting rules on insurance capital's equity investment and expects to launch it in the first half of this year, Economic Information Daily reported on Monday.

The rules will clarify the investment target, investment portfolio and relevant risk management scheme, the newspaer cited an unnamed source as saying.

The State Council, or China's Cabinet, has allowed insurers to pour no more than eight percent of their capital into equity investment. At the end of 2008, China's insurance capital totaled 3.06 trillion yuan (US$448 billion).

Industry experts said around 10 billion yuan will go to infrastructure projects and the other 10 billion will go to other energy and resources-based projects.

(China Daily February 9, 2009)