Skandia-BSAM Life Insurance Co. Ltd, a joint venture between Skandia Insurance Company Ltd. of Sweden and Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co. Ltd (BSAM), has been launched in Beijing. 

It was the first insurance joint venture in the national capital to be approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Information from the Beijing Municipal Insurance Regulatory Office showed that five joint ventures are offering life insurance in Beijing.

China's insurance business has big capacity for growth and the insurance market potential in Beijing remained enormous, said Beijing Vice Mayor Lu Hao, while addressing the inaugurating ceremony on Wednesday.

"Beijing is opening itself wider to overseas insurance companies," noted Lu.

Insurance premiums in Beijing totaled 22.6 billion yuan (about US$2.73 billion) in 2002, of which, life insurance premiums made up 16 billion yuan (some US$1.93 billion).

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2004)