Indeed, heavy-handed regulations have seen overseas life insurers' market share decline to 5.6 percent in 2013 from 8.9 percent in 2005, China Insurance Regulatory Commission data shows. Foreign property and casualty companies have failed to grow market share from 1.3 percent since 2005. IAG is not the first large financial institution to throw in the towel in China, but the abrupt and public U-turn is something of a rarity. Frustrated and disillusioned by the slow pace of deregulation and increasing local competition, firms such as AXA SA and Sun Life Financial reduced ownership in their China joint ventures about five years ago. New York Life quit China completely in 2011. Europe's Allianz and Canada's Manulife Financial Corp are among the global insurers still operating in the world's second-biggest economy via domestic joint ventures.