Samsung Air China Life applies to open Tianjin branch

The Samsung Air China Life Insurance Co. Ltd said on Monday that it has submitted application to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission for opening a new branch in Tianjin.

The move is the insurer's first expansion outside its Beijing headquarters since it was established in 2005.

The insurance company, a 50:50 joint venture between China National Aviation Holding Company and Samsung Life, a unit of the Samsung Group, has realized premium income of RMB 59.71 million for the first six months of the year, exceeding the premium income of RMB 34.14 for the whole 2007. However, the performance is still far less than satisfactory compared with other insurers in China.

It is also revealed that Samsung Air China Life has increased its registered capital to RMB 500 million earlier this year.