BRIEFING - ASIA INSURANCE - MAY 20, 2010

Thursday, May 20,2010, 4:29:37 PM Click:

An executive briefing on insurance for May 20, 2010, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.

PRUDENTIAL TO SELL 50% AIA CHINA STAKE

BEIJING - The Prudential plc is to sell a 50 per cent stake in AIA China once it has completed the purchase of the AIA Group Ltd, the American International Group's Asian subsidiary, said Tidjane Thiam, chief executive officer of Prudential.

According to Chinese regulations, foreign insurers' investment in a joint-venture life insurer should be no more than 50 per cent of the joint venture's total equity.

SRI LANKA'S CEYLINCO INSURANCE POSTS 9% RISE IN MARCH NET PROFIT

COLOMBO - Sri Lana's Ceylinco Insurance Company said net profits for the March 2010 quarter were up 9 per cent to 110.5 million rupees (US$971,847) from a year earlier though gross written premiums were flat at 4.4 billion rupees with lower general business.

Basic earnings per share were 4.19 rupees for the quarter, interim accounts filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. The stock last traded at 260 rupees.

CHINESE INSURER PICC GROUP PLANS TO LET IN STRATEGIC INVESTORS

BEIJING - The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (PICC) will invite strategic investors within this year, said Wu Yan, president of the PICC Group.

The insurer is still preparing for its initial public offering.

DELHI COURT RECORDS STATEMENT AGAINST BAJAJ IN INDIA MAP ROW

NEW DELHI - A Delhi court on Tuesday recorded the statement of a complainant, who is seeking prosecution of industrialist and Rajya Sabha (Upper House) MP Rahul Bajaj for the alleged disfigurement of the India map on a website hosted by his group's German insurance partner, Allianz.

"The portrayal of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as parts of Pakistan and China respectively on the website of the company shows disloyalty towards the nation," complainant Sanjay Sachdeva testified before Metropolitan Magistrate Geetanjali Goel.