Global financial insurer AIG will expand its range to cash in on demand for higher-yielding investment products from China's growing middle class.

An AIG-Huatai booth at a Beijing exhibition. Global financial insurer AIG will expand its range to cash in on demand for higher-yielding investment products from China's growing middle class. [China Daily]

Analysts say creating higher-yield products is now the dominant industry trend for both local and foreign insurance companies.

Major foreign insurers are trying to diversify into other financial services in China, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 24 foreign insurers. The survey covered all 40 foreign insurance companies in the country.

Olin L Wethington, chairman of AIG in China, expects the insurance market to grow at 15 percent over the next few years, driven by the nation's fast-growing middle class. Many have invested in the booming stock market and are seeking returns that are considerably higher than bank interest, he said.

"We consider consumer choices for financial products as the starting point because there is a fast-growing middle class in China," Wethington said.

"Their earning power and savings are increasing, which may make them more willing to spend part of their income and savings on products that help to address risks like health and retirement.

AIG is trying to take advantage by developing investment-linked life insurance products. It launched a mutual fund in May 2006, raising 9 billion yuan in three days.

"The market doesn't always go up - sometimes it becomes volatile and goes down," said Wethington. "Insurance companies, by definition, are longer-term players, so we are targeting not the highest returns but steady and solid returns."

American International Assurance (AIA), a subsidiary of AIG, was approved to operate life insurance business in Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces in 2006.

AIA also plans to set up service centers and sub offices in the two provinces in the coming years to expand its reach, said Wethington.