MetLife 2 China JVs Merging, Insurance Policies Not Affected

Sino-US MetLife Insurance Co., Ltd. and United MetLife Insurance Co., Ltd., MetLife's two life insurance joint ventures in the Chinese market, have reached an agreement over a merger.

To be specifically, Sino-US MetLife will be merged by United MetLife and after the deal, the Shanghai-based insurer will own both assets and debts of the Beijing-based one, with operations of the target across the market to be maintained. Both ventures announced the news on their websites recently and the deal now is subject to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), the top Chinese insurance regulator. The merged one will be renamed as Sino-US United MetLife Insurance Co., Ltd. and insurance policies consumers bought from any of them will be of valid as usual. The deal is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

Statistics show that the original premium revenue Sino-US MetLife and United MetLife captured in the market in 2009 stood at about CNY 2.06 billion and CNY 907 million, each.