It is no secret that more Asian investors are turning to real estate investment to enhance and diversify their portfolios, and Asian insurance companies are no exception. In fact, an easing of regulatory restrictions on property investing for insurance companies — such as allowing direct overseas investment, higher allocations to real estate and a simplified approval process — is leading to greater property investment, notes CBRE in its recent report Liberalisation and the Rise of Asian Insurance Investment in Real Estate.

Combined, Asian insurers held US$6.7 trillion in total insurance assets at the end of 2013, more than those controlled by their counterparts in the United