ING Groep NV, the largest Dutch financial services company, said its insurance venture with Beijing Capital Group expects approval to open branches in Shandong Province in eastern China by the end of the year.
ING Capital Life Insurance Co also plans to expand into Henan and Hebei Provinces in the next three years, General Manager Barry Tsai told reporters in Beijing yesterday. The venture last month received a license to sell insurance to companies in China.
ING Capital, set up in 2002, has 1,700 agents in Dalian, Liaoning Province, and Beijing. It started selling products through Bank of Beijing Co's 118 branches in May after ING bought 19.9 percent of the lender in March. The venture earned 42.4 million yuan (US$5.1 million) in premiums in the 16 weeks ended April.
ING Groep's 50-50 venture with China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co also plans to open branches in Jiangsu Province, expanding beyond Guangdong Province in the south, and Shanghai, Alexander Rinnooy Kan, a member of ING Groep NV's executive board responsible for overseeing ING Asia Pacific, said yesterday.
"We hope to grow also from Shanghai going forward by going into Jiangsu Province next," Kan said.
International insurers are competing to expand in China where its 1.3 billion people are turning to commercial insurers for protection.