"China represents one of Aegon's key growth markets, given the significant potential in the coming years for life insurance and related products", said Aegon's Chairman and CEO Donald J. Shepard.
Continuing its expansion throughout China's densely-populated and fast-growing coastal provinces, Aegon-CNOOC Life Insurance Company Ltd., has received a license from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to begin life insurance activities in the country's eastern Zhejiang province.
Aegon entered into a partnership with the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in 2002 to establish a 50/50 life insurance joint venture in Shanghai. Since then, the partners have expanded into businesses in Beijing and throughout the prosperous coastal provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong. The regions of China where Aegon-CNOOC is now active include a population of more than 200 million people.
The Zhejiang insurance sector has shown strong growth in recent years. In 2006, the province generated total life insurance premiums of approximately RMB 23 billion*) (EUR 2.2 billion), an increase of 12% compared with 2005. The Aegon-CNOOC Zhejiang branch will offer a comprehensive range of life, accident and health products through a broad range of distribution channels, including banks, tied agents, brokers and direct marketing.
"China represents one of Aegon's key growth markets, given the significant potential in the coming years for life insurance and related products", said Aegon's Chairman and CEO Donald J. Shepard. "In the last couple of years, Aegon-CNOOC has been able to gain access to promising new provinces in China and to develop a solid platform for further expansion. We welcome this opportunity to continue our expansion strategy to serve the developing needs of the citizens of Zhejiang".
*) Source: Zhejiang Statistics Information
