China Life And Colonial To Form Joint Venture

China Life Insurance Company and Colonial today announced that they had signed a contract to form a joint venture life insurance company in Shanghai.

The companies have received agreement from the State Council of the People's Republic of China and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to form a joint venture life insurance company in Shanghai.

The joint venture will commence operation within the next half year.

Chairman and President of China Life, Madame He Jiesheng said the joint venture was the culmination of many years' hard work and long- standing cooperation between the two organisations.

"China Life has chosen Colonial as its partner because of its extensive international insurance expertise, particularly its strong track record of success operating joint venture insurance businesses in Asia," she said.

Colonial's Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Peter Smedley said that Colonial was honoured to join China Life, the PRC's largest insurance company, to form the joint venture.

"Colonial's worldwide business has achieved strong growth and profitability. We look forward to achieving the same success in China in conjunction with our partner."

"The proposed joint venture will provide the people of Shanghai with a balance of local knowledge and international expertise," he said.

The proposed joint venture name is `China Life CMG'.

The registered capital of China Life CMG is RMB 200 million. China Life will contribute 51 per cent of the capital and Colonial 49 per cent.

China Life is the sole State-owned commercial life insurance company in the PRC. Total assets are RMB 90 billion. Its annual premium income has reached RMB 50 billion. China Life has more than 3400 branches and offices throughout China and employs 43,000 staff. It has set up more than 80,000 agency offices and also employs over 200,000 agents. China Life has established extensive relationships with the international insurance society.

Colonial is a diverse international financial services group with core businesses in insurance, pensions, funds management and banking. It has a presence in twelve markets and employs 28,000 staff and distributors around the world. It is listed on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges. Group assets held and under management are more than A$75 billion.

ENDS..

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