Allianz Global Investors received approval from regulators to take a 2% stake in Guomin Pensions & Insurance Co. in China, making it the first foreign asset manager to be a shareholder in the firm.
Guomin Pension was launched in 2022 with registered capital of 11.2 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) by some of China's largest financial institutions, including state-backed banks and large securities and insurance institutions such as CITIC Securities, CICC and Taikang Life Insurance.
The National Financial Regulatory Administration gave approval to AllianzGI to subscribe to around 228 million newly issued shares in Guomin Pension worth 284 million yuan or $39 million, bringing the pension company’s registered capital to around 11.4 billion yuan, according to a statement on Dec. 10.
“Guomin Pension serves as an important part of China’s active response to its aging population and its presence will help the overall development of the third pillar pension market in China,” the statement said.
The market size of China's third pension pillar — which refers to personal pension plans as opposed to state or corporate pensions — is projected to grow to 4 trillion yuan under the existing regulatory landscape by 2030, and may reach 7 trillion yuan if additional reforms are implemented, the statement said.
“We are proud to announce this strategic investment in Guomin Pension, the latest important milestone in our long term growth plan in a country where we see significant market opportunities. China’s pension market is growing fast,” said Tobias Pross, chief executive officer at AllianzGI, in the statement.
AllianzGI manages €560 billion ($591.7 billion) in assets.
