US Insurer Expects To Enter Chinese Market

The US-based CIGNA Corporation is actively preparing for an expected entry into China's insurance market, with a development strategy announced Friday.

Edward Hanway, board director and chief executive officer of CIGNA, said that his company "was well prepared to enter the Chinese market, and will strive to provide quality products to clients."

CIGNA, now waiting for a business license from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, disclosed a future development strategy in China of covering health insurance, life insurance and accident insurance.

According to Edward Hanway, CIGNA's cooperation with China can be traced back to two hundred years ago, when one of its predecessors, Insurance of North American (INA), signed the earliest insurance policy in China.

CIGNA continued its business in China in 1994, and since then it has established representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Ron R. Kuang, chief representative of the CIGNA Beijing Office, said that "what we have done in the past gave us an in-depth understanding of the Chinese market, and we know how to build up our businesses and develop new products that will meet the market demand."

CIGNA, one of the world's top 500 companies, leads the global insurance market in employee welfare insurance. CIGNA also covers superannuation, retirement products and insurance fund management.

By the end of March 2001, CIGNA's total assets amounted to 88.8 billion U.S. dollars, with an annual sales volume hitting more than 20 billion U.S. dollars.

Funded solely by CIGNA, the Philadelphia Orchestra 100th Birthday Concert was held tonight at the Great Hall of the People. It was warmly welcomed by the Beijing audience and was a complete success.






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