Taikang Life Insurance Company is making a multimillion yuan bid for a piece of land in Guangzhou International Biotech Island, in preparation for establishing the first retirement community in southern China, Nandu Daily reported on Tuesday.

It said that Taikang has also been holding talks with some of the major medical institutions in Guangdong and is now negotiating with the provincial government to complete the deal.

The report added the retirement community will be the third established by Taikang, after others in Beijing and Chengdu.

The planned island is surrounded by the Pearl River in southeast Guangdong, a province believed to have China's highest insurance premium revenue.

"The market in Guangdong is huge. Our targeted consumers include people in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao and from abroad," an official from Taikang is quoted as saying.

Since China Insurance Regulatory Commission eased restrictions on property investments by insurance companies in late July, various companies have been looking to invest in retirement community projects and affordable housing projects.

A source at New China Life Insurance Company Ltd, for instance, confirmed it is examining investment possibilities in several cities, including Zhuhai, 140 kilometers southwest of Guangzhou.

And Union Life Insurance Co Ltd has already developed more than 130,000 square meters' of land in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province in Central China, and is busy securing land for retirement communities in Hefei of Anhui province, Shenyang of Liaoning province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"Retirement community development is a long-term investment. And we are expect them to make stable returns," said an insurance company official in Guangdong.