If returns on common equity investment hovers around 10 percent each year, that for PE investment could be 15 to 20 percent or even higher, said Wang.

He believes 3 to 5 percent is an appropriate proportion for insurance companies' PE investment, but it would be even lower at the pilot phrase.

The nation's insurers earned a record 279.2 billion yuan by way of investment returns last year, thanks to the bullish stock market.

(China Daily March 4, 2008)