China's banking and insurance regulator announced on Wednesday it had approved the establishment of the first foreign-funded pension insurance company in the country.

Taking new steps to further open up China's financial sectors, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission recently gave the green light to the application of Heng An Standard Life Insurance Company Limited, a China-UK joint-venture insurance company headquartered in Tianjin, for setting up a wholly-owned pension insurance company.

The regulator also approved the global property and casualty insurer Chubb to increase its stake in Huatai Insurance Group from 20 percent to 26 percent. It also approved the Hong Kong-headquartered life insurer AIA to begin preparations for the establishment of sales and service centers in Tianjin and Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei province. This is in accordance with the pilot program on promoting insurance integration under a plan for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Since the beginning of this year, the commission has allowed several foreign banks and insurers to start preparations for the establishment of branches and branch companies in China, in addition to giving approval to foreign banks and insurers for a total increase of 10.87 billion yuan ($1.62 billion) in registered capital or working capital.

The regulator said it will continuously push ahead with the opening-up of China's banking and insurance sectors and keep improving the business environment, so that a larger number of foreign banks and insurers that meet regulatory requirements will be allowed to participate in the Chinese financial market.