The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has acquired a 2.014% stake in Italy's largest insurer Assicurazioni Generali, the latest in a series of blue chip purchases the central bank has made in the European country this year, according to a shareholding disclosure to stock market regulator Consob.

Under Italian law, if a company holds 2% or more of shares, the Italian stock exchange authority gives notice to the public.

The transaction marks the sixth acquisition PBoC has done this year involving stakes in leading Italian companies. The purchases are made amid the global trend that central banks are buying more into higher-risk equity markets (compared to lower-risk government bonds) to offset the income reduction in a low interest rate environment, according to a report by a central bank research institute, Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF).

OMFIF data shows that global public investors have increased investments in publicly-quoted equities, and that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is "the world's largest public sector holder of equities". SAFE is part of PBoC, managing China's US$3.99 trillion foreign exchange reserves as of end June.

To reduce public expenditure and public debt, the Italian government is actively promoting the privatization of state-owned enterprises, providing a window for foreign capital to tap into the country.

The other five acquisitions PBoC has pursued this year in Italy were the combined 670 million euro (US$895 million) purchases of 2% stake each in the phone group Telecom Italia, cable maker Prysmian Spa and carmaker Fiat Spa in July. It has also bought a total of 2.1 billion euro for a 2% stake in the state-owned utility firm Enel and a 2.1% equity in the state-owned oil and natural-gas company Eni in March.

With scant information on the deals released publicly, market analysts perceive the acquisitions were done through SAFE and China Investment Corporation where PBoC put in US$50 billion in 2012 and became one of its shareholders.