ING Groep's life insurance joint venture with Beijing Capital Group, ING Capital Life Insurance Company, has received China Insurance Regulatory Commission approval to establish branch operations in the Chinese province of Henan.
ING Capital Life will be the first Sino-foreign joint venture to set up operations in Henan. The Chinese province has the largest population among China’s 31 provinces and municipalities, and ranks number five in terms of gross domestic product.
During the next six months, ING Capital Life will establish a branch in Henan’s capital, Zhengzhou. Under the terms of the license, ING can apply to the local Henan China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) office to open sales and marketing offices across the province, enabling ING Capital Life to sell insurance products to around 100 million people.
Hans van der Noordaa, chairman of ING Insurance Asia/Pacific and executive board member of ING Group, commented on the authorization: We are delighted to receive the approval for Henan Province so closely on the heels of the branch opening in Shangdong and the set-up of two sales and marketing offices as part of our Shenyang license. Pending approval, ING Capital Life will now be able to set the standard in helping almost 250 million customers across China to manage their financial future.
ING currently operates in 12 Chinese cities. ING Capital Life already operates in Dalian, Beijing, Shenyang, Jinan, Anshan and Panjin.