Strong premiums growth for foreign

Premiums of foreign insurance companies in China stood at Yn2.33bn in the first
five months of 2003, reported China Daily, a year-on-year increase of 37.5 per cent. Foreign insurers secured a 10.1 per cent market share in Shanghai, according to figures from
the China Insurance Regulatory Commis-sion, and 4.8 per cent in
Guangzhou.
There are 36 foreign insurers in China with operational units,
including 20 life underwriters and 14 property underwriters.
Sompo Japan
Insurance has begun
operations in Dalian, Liaoning province, becomine the first
overseas-funded property insurance firm in northern China. Japan's second layCest
property insurer said the Dalian branch would have an operating cap-ital of Yn2OOm and
would offer property insurance and reinsuranee to overseas-fund-ed firms. There are an
estimated 8,000 for-eign-funded companies in Dalian, of which about a quarter are
Japanese-funded.