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

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.

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.

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, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance said in a press briefing.

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.

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.

Beijing is seeing diminishing returns on repeated attempts to reinvigorate the market, as investors worry about harder-to-control economic fundamentals, like weak consumer spending and the prolonged property crunch.

China said on Wednesday it will guide big state insurers and commercial insurance funds to increase investments in the A-share market, in a latest move to boost its lagging stock market.