Chinese venture AXA Tianping has sold its 50 percent share to French insurer AXA in a 4.6-billion-yuan (662.5 million U.S. dollars) deal, becoming totally foreign-owned, according to a statement by AXA Tianping on Monday.

The statement said five Chinese shareholders of AXA Tianping signed the deal with the largest shareholder AXA Versicherungen AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AXA, to sell their 50 percent share to the French insurer.

AXA will be in full control of the company, making it the first foreign insurer to own a major Chinese property and casualty insurance company.

Thomas Buberl, chief executive of AXA, said AXA Tianping represents a unique platform for AXA to capture fully the significant growth potential of the property and casualty market in China, according to the Financial Times.

The announcement came a day after Germany's Allianz received a green light to set up the first-ever foreign insurance holding company in the country.

Founded in 1985, AXA is one of the world's leading insurance and asset management companies operating in 62 countries.

AXA Tianping is the largest foreign-funded property insurer in China with a registered capital of 846 million yuan. As of the end of 2017, the company's premium income had reached 8.13 billion yuan, and a total asset of 10.83 billion yuan.