Starr Cos. to Advise International Clients Looking to Grow in US

Starr Cos. is looking to leverage its roots in China by helping clients from Asia and other emerging markets invest in the United States.

Starr Strategic Partners is "a unique vision of Starr Cos. and our chairman, Hank Greenberg," said X. Rick Niu, who has been named senior managing director of the newly formed operation.

With an initial focus on global Chinese investors, Niu will lead a dedicated team that will deliver products, services and solutions across Starr Cos. insurance and investment divisions and through strategic alliances.

The opportunity stems from a need for more foreign investment in the United States, coupled with foreign investors—whether they are companies or individuals—looking for advice as to how to best grow in the United States, Niu said.

"There's a significant need that would require organizations like ours to be the centerpiece, the partner and adviser of choice" for those international investors looking to establish or grow businesses or investments in the United States, he said.

"When they establish their presence—whether it is in the form of a manufacturing plant, office or major subsidiary that employs a lot of people—they will need a lot of insurance," Niu said. "We will help them on the investment and insurance point of view."

International investors may have the capital and courage to enter and expand into the United States, but they may lack the expertise to navigate U.S. laws, taxes, language and culture, he said.

Investors will be looking for advice from companies that they trust, Niu said.

"This is a 5,000-year-old civilization," Niu said of China. "Trust and reputation are not easily come by. It's not how well-capitalized you are, or how big you are. Trust is priceless."

Starr Cos. got its start in Shanghai, China, when Cornelius Vander Starr founded an insurance agency there in December 1919. Throughout the 1920s, Starr established branches across China, and in Hong Kong, Hanoi, Saigon, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and the Philippines. The company continued to grow to become an international presence.

Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of C.V. Starr & Co. Inc. since 1968, has been with the company since 1960. In 1967, he became the CEO of American International Group, a position he held until 2005. Starr Cos. founded AIG.

Since 1975, Greenberg has visited China five to six times a year, and has become well known by government officials, business executives, and even regular people on the street, Niu said.

"The common people know him as an old and best friend to the Chinese people. His reputation in China is impeccable," Niu said.

Greenberg advised Chinese leaders on their decision to join the World Trade Organization. In 1990, Greenberg was appointed to be the first chairman of the international business leaders advisory council for the mayor of Shanghai. In 1994, Greenberg was appointed senior economic adviser to the Beijing municipal government.

Since opening the doors to Starr Strategic Partners this week, the operation has already seen a "huge" pipeline of interested clients, Niu said.

For a long time, Starr Cos. has had a strong pipeline of overseas firms and individuals needing insurance, investment and other strategic solutions when doing business in the United States. The formation of Starr Strategic Partners will only serve to strengthen that, Niu said.

Most recently, Niu served as chief marketing officer, U.S. retirement, and executive vice president and chief growth officer, U.S. insurance, at ING Group NV.

Starr Cos. is the marketing name for C.V. Starr & Co. Inc. and Starr Insurance Holdings Inc., and is a global, privately held insurance, financial services, and investments organization.

On Feb. 21, A.M. Best Co. has assigned a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) to Starr International Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Starr Insurance & Reinsurance Ltd., and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Starr International Co., a private investment holding company (Best's News Service, Feb. 21, 2012).

Starr's other insurance entities also have Best's Financial Strength Ratings of A (Excellent).

(By Meg Green, senior associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])