Zheshang P&C to Establish Branch in Shanghai

Zheshang Property and Casualty Insurance Co. has won regulatory approval to establish a branch in Shanghai, in addition to branches in Zhejiang, Sichuan and Beijing.

By the end of July 2010, the insurer had original premium income of 461 million yuan (US$68.3 million), according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Zheshang Property and Casualty was incorporated in June 2009 and headquartered in Nanjing, the capital of eastern China's Zhejiang province. It was the first national non-life insurer with headquarters in the province.

The insurer has nine investors with registered capital of 1 billion yuan. Zhejiang Commercial Group Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group Co. Ltd. are its major shareholders, with each holding a 20% stake in the insurer, said Zheshang Property and Casualty.

In the first seven months of this year, the Shanghai insurance market reported total cumulative original premium income of 54.15 billion yuan. Of that, property insurance accounted for 11.6 billion yuan, life insurance 38.64 billion yuan, accident insurance 910 million yuan and health insurance 3.01 billion yuan, the CIRC noted.

(By Rebecca Ng, Hong Kong news editor: Rebecca.Ng@ambest.com)