Watson Wyatt Sets Up Insurance Consulting Presence in Shanghai

Hong Kong, February 8, 2006 - Watson Wyatt is setting up an insurance and financial services consulting presence in Shanghai in early 2006.

The firm is already one of the leading advisers to China's growing insurance company market and until now has serviced domestic Chinese insurers and multinational joint ventures from its long-standing base in Hong Kong.

Watson Wyatt's new Shanghai insurance and financial services (IFS) consulting team will be led by Michael Ross, who has spearheaded much of the insurance consulting undertaken by the firm in China in recent years. This work includes acting as the consulting actuaries to Ping An Insurance (Group) of China Ltd, the number two insurer in China, during its successful listing of shares on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2004.

Michael has spent the last 13 years working in Hong Kong, initially with AXA where he was general manager (actuarial) and the appointed actuary, before joining Watson Wyatt in 2000. He has also been president of the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong on two separate occasions, in 1989 and 2002.

"I am delighted that Michael is making this move to Shanghai," said Philip Brook, global practice director for insurance and financial services consulting at Watson Wyatt. "He is the natural choice for this important leadership role in the burgeoning Chinese market. We see much growth in this market for top quality advice and we believe the time is right to consolidate our already strong position in the Chinese financial services industry."

Paul Sinnott, managing director of IFS in Asia Pacific, added: "We have been actively working with insurers in China since 1995 and, given the rapidly developing market there, we felt that it was time for us to be able to service our clients from an experienced team on the ground."

This is the latest development in over 30 years' of activity in Greater China for Watson Wyatt. The firm set up an office in Hong Kong in 1973, entered China in 1984 and opened a wholly foreign-owned representative office in Shanghai in 1995. Today, Watson Wyatt's Greater China business unit comprises five offices - in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Taipei.

Watson Wyatt Worldwide

Watson Wyatt (NYSE: WW) is a leading global human capital and financial management consulting firm.  The firm specializes in employee benefits, human capital strategies, technology solutions, and insurance and financial services.  Watson Wyatt has 6,000 associates in 30 countries and is located on the Web at www.watsonwyatt.com.

Watson Wyatt in Asia Pacific

Watson Wyatt commenced operations in Hong Kong over 30 years ago. With 17 offices in 12 countries and 800 associates, our Asia Pacific network reaches far and wide: Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kolkata, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo.

Watson Wyatt's insurance and financial services practice

Watson Wyatt's insurance and financial services practice provides a comprehensive range of consulting services, from the strategic to the technical actuarial. We provide these services to a wide variety of clients including banks, captive insurance companies/self-insured corporations, fund managers, government and quasi-government bodies, life/general/health insurance companies, insurance industry associations, insurance regulators, intermediaries and re-insurance companies. While technical excellence is a vital component of our services, the ability to translate this into practical solutions to real life business problems is our main strength

Contact:

Ed Emerman
609/452-5967
eemerman@eaglepr.com