13th Jul 2005 07:00
Prudential PLC13 July 2005 Embargo: 07.00 Wednesday 13 July 2005 CITIC Prudential becomes the leading foreign insurance company in China in terms of city licences Prudential's life insurance joint venture in China, CITIC Prudential Life, hasbeen awarded a further two city licences, taking its total to ten and making itthe largest foreign life insurer in the country in terms of licences. These new licences will enable CITIC Prudential Life to sell its portfolio ofproducts, which include traditional life/term assurance and unit-linked lifepolicies as well as accident and health products in Nanjing and Shenzhen, with acombined population of 12 million. Mark Norbom, Chief Executive, Prudential Corporation Asia, said today: "China is an extremely attractive market with compelling demographics. The twonew licences we have announced today give CITIC Prudential a significantgeographic lead over other foreign insurers in this growth market. "Our strategy is to continue to expand geographically by acquiring further citylicences and to focus on building scale businesses through product innovationand multi-channel distribution backed up by top-quality, cost-efficientservicing." The Chinese life insurance industry has experienced dramatic rates of growth inrecent years with life premiums growing on average by more than 37 per centbetween 1980 and 1997. Several factors suggest that the growth will continue: • Life insurance penetration in China as a percentage of GDP is still only 2.3 per cent. • Of the £21 billion market for Life Gross premiums that was recorded in 2004, foreign insurers accounted for approximately £544 million - around 3 per cent of the total. CITIC Prudential was awarded its first city licence in October 2000. Inaddition to the ten city licences, CITIC Prudential also has a licence to sellgroup life insurance in China. In 2004 APE sales for CITIC-Prudential in Chinaincreased by 70 per cent on the previous year and the company now employs morethan 8,000 staff and agents. - ENDS - Enquiries: Media Investors / analysts Jon Bunn 020 7548 3559 James Matthews 020 7548 3561Joanne Davidson 020 7548 3708 Marina Lee-Steere 020 7548 3511 Notes for Editors 1. Nanjing has a population of over 5.8 million and is situated 300 kilometreswest of Shanghai on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in theeconomically significant Jiangsu province. In 2004 the city's GDP was £12.7billion, an increase of around 17 per cent over the previous year. 2. Shenzhen has a population of approximately 6 million and is located inGuangdong province, less than an hour by train from Hong Kong. Shenzhen isChina's first Special Economic Zone and has developed into the country's fastestgrowing commercial centre. The city attracts more than one third of China'stotal foreign direct investment. In 2004 the GDP of Shenzhen was £24 billion, a17.3 per cent increase from 2003. About CITIC Prudential Life CITIC Prudential Life combines Prudential's 150 years of industry experiencewith CITIC's nationwide distribution network, excellent financial credentialsand in depth knowledge of the local market. To expand its market share, CITIC Prudential has focused on understanding theneeds of Chinese consumers and developing a range of savings, protection andinvestment products to meet these needs. The company offers both traditionallife/term assurance and unit-linked life products as well as a portfolio ofaccident and health products, sold on their own or as supplements to lifepolicies. CITIC Prudential has continued to build a presence in China since 2000. City Province Date licence granted Launch Date Guangzhou Guangdong April 2000 October 2000Beijing Direct Administration Zone March 2003 August 2003Suzhou Jiangsu March 2004 September 2004Shanghai Direct Administration Zone November 2004 May 2005Foshan Guangdong February 2005 March 2005Dongguan Guangdong February 2005 March 2005Wuhan Hubei March 2005 Q3 2005*Zhongshan Guangdong April 2005 May 2005Nanjing Jiangsu June 2005 Jul 2005Shenzhen Guangdong June 2005 Jul 2005 * estimated launch date About Prudential Prudential plc is a leading international financial services group, providingretail financial services and fund management in its chosen markets: the UnitedKingdom, the United States, Asia and continental Europe. Prudential has been writing life insurance in the United Kingdom for over 150years and has had the largest long-term fund in the United Kingdom for over acentury. Today, Prudential has over 16 million customers worldwide and over £187billion (as of 31 December 2004) of funds under management. In the United Kingdom Prudential is a leading life and pensions provideroffering a range of retail financial products. M&G is Prudential's UK &European Fund Manager, with around £126 billion of funds under management.Jackson National Life, acquired by Prudential in 1986, is a leading provider oflong-term savings and retirement products to retail and institutional customersthroughout the United States. Egg plc, in which Prudential has a 78 per centshareholding, provides banking, insurance and investment products through itsinternet site www.egg.com. Prudential is the leading European-based life insurer in Asia with operations in12 countries. *Prudential plc, a company incorporated and with its principal place of businessin the United Kingdom, and its affiliated companies constitute one of theworld's leading financial services groups. It provides insurance and financialservices directly and through its subsidiaries and affiliates throughout theworld. It has been in existence for over 150 years and has over US$340 billionin assets under management, as at 31 December 2004. Prudential plc is notaffiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc, a company whoseprincipal place of business is in the United States of America. About CITIC Group (China International Trust and Investment Corporation) CITIC was established on October 4 1979 by Rong Yiren. The creation of CITIC wasinitiated and approved by Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of China's reform. CITIC is a window on the way China has opened to the outside world. Since itsinception, CITIC has always adhered to the principle of innovation. In line withgovernment laws, regulations and policies, CITIC has attracted and utilizedforeign capital, introduced advanced technologies, and adopted advanced andscientific international practices in operations and management. CITIC hasestablished successful, strong performing businesses in many fields. As aresult, CITIC has made significant contributions to the country's reform andopening up drive and has improved China's reputation both domestically andabroad. CITIC has grown into a large multinational conglomerate. It now owns 44subsidiaries in countries including Hong Kong, the United States, Canada,Australia and New Zealand. The company has also set up representative offices inTokyo, New York and Frankfurt. CITIC's core business ranges from financialservices to service industries. By the end of 2004, CITIC had total assets ofover RMB 701.6 billion (US$84 billion). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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