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Allianz Global Investors
Allianz Global Investors has received regulatory approval to take a 2 per cent stake in Guomin Pension & Insurance Company Limited. Allianz says it is the first foreign asset manager to own a stake in China's pension insurance company. 

The move is a play by Allianz GI to tap into what it sees as a growing private sector pensions industry in China, the world’s second-largest economy. 

Guomin Pension was established in 2022 to develop China’s pensions industry. 

AllianzGI secured approval to subscribe to around 228 million newly-issued shares in Guomin Pension worth about RMB284 million ($39 million). This will result in an increase in Guomin Pension's registered capital to around RMB11.378 billion, which has been approved by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, Allianz GI said in a statement. 

“China’s pension market is growing fast. By drawing on our decades of international markets experience, along with our extensive expertise in areas including risk management, product development and asset allocation, we think we can help Guomin Pension deliver innovative solutions that best meet the country’s retirement needs,” Tobias Pross, chief executive at Allianz Global Investors, said. 

The market size of China's third pillar personal pensions system, launched in 2018 as pilot schemes, is projected to grow to RMB4 trillion under the existing regulatory landscape by 2030, and may reach RMB7 trillion if additional reforms are implemented, Allianz GI said. (Source: China Pension Reform, jointly authored and published by KPMG China and ASIFMA in June 2023.)