China to set up insurance fund firm soon -paper

SHANGHAI, May 15 (Reuters) - China will set up an entity to manage the country's insurance-protection fund, worth more than 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion), as early as June, the China Business News reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

Wei Yingning, vice chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, is expected to be appointed chairman of the company, which will support the country's insurers during financial crises, the newspaper said.

It added that the new entity would take control of New China Life Insurance, one of the country's leading insurers, in which Chinese regulators bought a controlling stake using money from the national insurance-protection fund.

The newly established company may hold the stake only temporarily, the newspaper said, as several leading state-owned companies have indicated an interest in buying it.

Potential bidders include Baosteel, PICC Property and Casualty Co, China Reinsurance Group, Ping An Insurance and China Life, the newspaper said, citing sources close to the situation. ($1=7.002 Yuan) (Reporting by Alfred Cang; Editing by Edmund Klamann)