HSBC Holdings PLC said Monday its insurance unit had agreed to acquire its China life insurance venture partner’s 50 percent stake to own fully the company under the new rules on foreign ownership that came into effect in January.

The move will allow London-headquartered HSBC, which gets the bulk of its revenue from Asia, to further expand its footprint in the world’s second-largest economy, where it has deployed billions of dollars as part its Asia “pivot” strategy.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The transaction to buy the stake in HSBC Life Insurance Co. (HSBC Life China) from joint venture partner National Trust Ltd. will be structured as a transfer of equity interest and is subject to regulatory approvals, the lender said.

China is the world’s third-largest insurance market after the United States and Japan, worth about US$318 billion in premiums according to a Swiss Re Institute report.

Global insurers, including Britain’s Prudential and Canada’s Sun Life Financial, have been in China for decades, but their collective market share remains below 10 percent as a result of ownership curbs and limited geographical presence.

China has been gradually easing access to its financial sector for foreigners. As part of that push, it allowed overseas companies to take full control of their local life insurance ventures from Jan. 1 this year.

Shanghai-headquartered HSBC Life China was formed in 2009 as a 50:50 joint venture between HSBC and National Trust. (SD-Agencies)