China's financial regulators on Thursday unveiled a slew of measures to urge large state-owned mutual funds and insurers to purchase more A-shares.

Starting this year, 30 per cent of the annual insurance premium earned from new coverage policies will be put into yuan-denominated A shares, said Wu Qing.

State-owned insurers and mutual funds are expected to play a pivotal role in the process, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance said in a press briefing.

China is guiding local mutual funds and insurers to boost their stock purchases in the government’s latest initiative to shore up its ailing equity market as it confronts the threat of higher tariffs.

Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after China rolled out more moves to try to boost its lagging stock markets by raising confidence that prices will rise. Officials in Beijing said pension funds and mutual funds would be required to increase purchases of shares,

State-owned insurers and mutual funds are expected to play a pivotal role in the process of stabilizing the stock market.

China announced plans on Thursday to channel hundreds of billions of yuan of investment from state-owned insurers into shares as part of the government's latest efforts to support a struggling stock market.

Equities rally as authorities set explicit investment targets for mutual funds and state-owned insurance companies