Named Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Shanghai, the new company is the first South Korean insurance company to operate in China and is the seventh foreign non-life insurer in China.

In the initial stage, the new company will focus on offering property and liability insurance services to South Korean-funded enterprises in Shanghai, said Soo Chang Lee, executive vice-president of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, yesterday at a press conference in Beijing.

"With China entering the World Trade Organization and loosening control on foreign insurers' operations, we'll consider expanding our service scope later," he said, adding that their operations will be in accordance with China's Insurance Law.

He said Samsung excels, especially in auto insurance applications, and wishes to bring its advanced technology and management know-how to China.

China's insurance industry enjoys rosy prospects with its strong economic growth, he said.

"We expect China's insurance market to become the fourth largest by 2005 and second largest by 2010," he said. "This is an important market to us."

Samsung has opened operational institutions in Europe, the United States and Indonesia.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, a member of the Samsung Group, was founded in 1952. By the end of this March, its total assets had reached US$7 billion.

It got approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to open a non-life insurance company last year, together with a Japanese insurance company.

Industry sources said the Japanese company will also launch its company soon in Shanghai.

Zhou Yanli, director with CIRC's Shanghai office, told China Daily in a recent interview that foreign life and non-life insurance companies are operating smoothly in Shanghai so far.

"Seen from their present performance, I believe most of the foreign-funded insurers will realize their pre-set profit-making goals," he said.

(China Daily 04/28/2001)