ICBC, Huatai Insurance Co. Sign Cooperation Pact

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Wednesday signed an agreement with the Huatai Insurance Company, China's first nationwide stocksharing insurance company.

According to the agreement, the ICBC will collect premiums and pay out claims on behalf of Huatai and the two sides will also co-operate in Internet settlements, deposits and other fields.

The cooperation pact is an important move for improving the services of both sides and for sharing their resources for mutual development, an ICBC official said.

The ICBC signed a cooperation pact with the country's largest poverty insurance company, the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC), last month. The agreement stated that the two sides will act as each others agent.

The ICBC also has a cooperation deal with the Ping'an Insurance Company. The ICBC's business on behalf of insurance companies last year totaled 14.6 billion yuan.

The shares of the Huatai Insurance Company, founded in 1996, were held by 63 large state-owned enterprises. Last year, the company collected premiums worth of 500 million yuan, doubling the 1998 amount, and had total assets of 4.4 billion yuan.






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