China agency Huijin plans New China Life buy-paper

SHANGHAI Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's Central Huijin, a government-controlled investment agency, plans to buy control of New China Life Insurance, a major insurer taken over last year by an industry protection fund, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Friday.

Central Huijin is in the final stage of talks to buy a controlling 38.8 percent stake in the insurer from China's insurance protection fund, its biggest shareholder, the newspaper said, citing unidentified sources.

If a deal is reached, it would be Central Huijin's second major holding in a Chinese insurer. It holds an 85.5 percent stake in China Reinsurance (Group) Corp, the country's only state-owned reinsurer, the paper said.

New China Life's chairman resigned in late 2006 amid an official investigation by regulators over suspected violations of rules on capital utilisation, according to official media reports. (Reporting by Samuel Shen; Editing by Edmund Klamann)