Beijing raised the limits for overseas investment by Chinese insurance companies on Wednesday to 15 per cent of their assets, potentially adding up to $50bn to the wall of money available.

China’s Insurance Regulatory Commission said it was raising the cap on overseas investments by insurers from 5 per cent with immediate effect. Chinese insurers have a combined Rmb2,500bn ($330bn) in assets; a total growing at 25-30 per cent a year.