China’s foreign exchange regulators are struggling to stem the flow of personal wealth spilling offshore via Hong Kong’s insurance industry, the latest results from the world’s second-largest insurer suggest.

全球第二大保险商的最新年报显示，中国外汇监管机构很难阻止个人财富借道香港保险业流出海外。

Yesterday AIA Group said that the value of new business in the territory increased by 60 per cent to $537m in the first six months of the year, noting a “substantial uplift in new business from mainland Chinese customers”.

昨日友邦保险(AIA Group)表示，今年上半年香港新业务价值增长60%，至5.37亿美元，并指出“来自中国内地客户的新业务大幅提升”。

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has attempted this year to close off channels that allow people to move large sums of money offshore, including the use of Chinese-issued credit cards to buy expensive insurance policies abroad.

中国国家外汇管理局(SAFE)今年试图关闭让人们将大额资金转移海外的渠道，包括使用中国发行的信用卡在海外购买昂贵保单。

Businesses and individuals in China have increasingly sought to move wealth offshore in the face of a slowing economy, a volatile stock market and the falling value of the renminbi.

面对经济放缓、股市波动和人民币不断贬值，在中国的企业和个人日益寻求将财富转移出境。

Offshore insurance products in Hong Kong have been a popular haven to hold individual wealth since China began devaluing the renminbi in August last year. The currency has fallen to Rmb6.65 against the US dollar from Rmb6.21 on August 9 last year.

自中国在去年8月开始让人民币贬值以来，香港的离岸保险产品成为流行的持有个人财富的“避风港”。人民币兑美元汇率从去年8月9日的1美元兑6.21元人民币跌至1美元兑6.65元人民币。

Once customers buy insurance policies using renminbi, they can use them as collateral for US dollar-denominated loans. They can also cash out of the products into a foreign currency.

一旦客户使用人民币购买保单，他们就可以用保单作为抵押，申请美元计价的贷款。他们也可以把这些产品套现为外币。

China allows individuals to exchange up to $50,000 a year into foreign currencies but Safe said in February that it would enforce a $5,000 cap on the purchase of financial products through credit cards issued by China UnionPay, the country’s state-controlled card monopoly.

中国允许个人每年兑换至多5万美元的外国货币，但中国外管局今年2月表示，将对通过中国银联(China UnionPay)发行的信用卡购买金融产品实施每次5000美元的上限。中国银联是中国国有信用卡垄断机构。

People involved in Hong Kong’s insurance market say the cap has not prevented Chinese customers from swiping their UnionPay cards multiple times in order to surpass the $5,000 cap.

香港保险市场的知情人士表示，这种上限没有阻止中国客户多次刷银联信用卡以突破5000美元的上限。

“The bottom line is that there is huge pressure from individuals to bring money out of China,” said Kevin Lai, chief Asia economist at Daiwa Capital Markets.

大和资本市场(Daiwa Capital Markets)的首席亚洲经济学家赖志文(Kevin Lai)表示：“归根结底，个人将资金带出中国境外产生了巨大压力。”