Beijing and Bohai region are in the sights of Allianz insurer

ALLIANZ China Life Insurance Co plans to expand its mainland business to the north of the country, the company's chief said yesterday.

The joint venture life insurer will expand into Beijing, followed by north China's Bohai region, Chief Executive Officer Christian Molt said yesterday in Shanghai.

The insurer now has branches in Guangdong, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces and Shanghai.

The company said last month that it has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to set up a branch in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, to expand in the Yangtze River Delta.

The insurer's first-half gross premiums this year reached as much as 1.3 billion yuan (US$171 million), equaling its premiums for all of last year, and up a whopping 173 percent from the first half of 2006.

Banks played a key role in the strong numbers as the insurer collected one billion yuan from selling policies at 1,200 bank outlets nationwide, including those of the country's big five state-owned lenders. The insurer took the No. 2 position among overseas insurers in China in the sector.

The company is also in talks with overseas banks to further expand its sales network, said Yang Yongting, deputy general manager of the company, who declined to name the banks the insurer is talking to. It has recently signed an agreement with Standard Chartered Bank.

Molt said he expects premiums to "continue growth at the same speed" in the second half of this year.

The insurer also boosted its sales team by 170 percent in the first half of the year, giving the company 5,000 agents nationwide.

Separately, Allianz has also submitted its application to upgrade its non-life branch into a subsidiary in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong. Four overseas insurers, including AIU, have already got approval to upgrade.

Allianz China Life, set up in January 1999, is the joint venture between German firm Allianz Group and CITIC Trust & Investment Co.