Swiss Re becomes pioneer investor in Swiss RQFII program with China

Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd. has taken an important step towards its business aspirations related to the company’s high-growth market strategy with the confirmation Monday that it is the first Swiss company to be granted a Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) licence.

Having the licence in place means Swiss Re “can proceed and apply for a quota to invest in the Chinese domestic securities markets, predominately into the fixed income market,” reports the company, a wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance and other insurance-based forms of risk transfer. “Currently, China’s bond market is one of the world’s largest, accessible only to foreign investors through specifically defined programs,” the company reports in a statement.

Granting of the licence “follows an agreement reached in January between Switzerland and China to establish a quota of RMB 50 billion that Switzerland-based financial institutions can use to invest in China’s domestic capital markets,” the statement notes.

“Gaining access to the Chinese financial markets – as they grow in significance – has become vital for global long-term investors,” explains Guido Fürer, Swiss Re’s group chief investment officer.

The RQFII program will further complement the company’s liability-matching investment capabilities, Fürer says. “This is an important step in Swiss Re’s business aspirations under our High Growth Market strategy.”