Great Wall Asset VP to Head Nissay-Greatwall Life

China Insurance Regulatory Commission recently agreed Zhou Liyao to act as chairman of Nissay-Greatwall Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

Zhou was appointed as vice president of China Great Wall Asset Management Corp. in July 2006 and prior to it, he once served as general manager of the asset management firm in Shanghai.

Great Wall Asset gained approval from the top Chinese insurance regulator to take a 50 percent stake in Nissay-SVA Life Insurance Co., Ltd. from SVA Group Co., Ltd. for about CNY 152 million last month. The target was renamed as Nissay-Greatwall Life after the deal and was formally established on October 17. Great Wall Asset and Nippon Life Insurance Co., the Chinese shareholder and foreign shareholder of the newborn, each plans to inject CNY 500 million into it, lifting registered capital of the Sino-Japanese joint venture up to CNY 1.3 billion.

Nissay-SVA Life was jointly established by SVA Group and Nippon Life in November 2003 with a registered capital of CNY 300 million. Headquartered in Shanghai, it is mainly engaged in personal and group life insurance.