Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. Ltd., listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has recently announced that its board of directors has approved the plan to merge Ping An Bank Co. with the Shenzhen Development Bank Co.

China's insurance regulator, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), has laid out new rules allowing Chinese insurance companies to diversify their investment channels to include Private Equity and Real Estate. The new rules afford Chinese insurers the chance to invest up to 10 percent of assets in real estate, as well as investing a further 5 percent of assets into private equity investments…