China has injected 360 billion yuan ($54 billion) into three state-owned banks and five insurers, marking its first recapitalization effort to include the insurance sector. The Ministry of Finance and China National Tobacco Corp led the operation, which was smaller than markets had anticipated. On Monday, shares of these institutions listed in Hong Kong declined, with Agricultural Bank of China and ICBC falling 2.7% and 2.3% respectively, while China Taiping Insurance lost nearly 4%. This operation follows a 500 billion yuan injection into major state banks last year, as Chinese banking sector net interest margins have reached record lows.
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