Prudential Financial and Fosun International commemorate launch of life insurance joint venture in China

SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance Company Ltd. (PFL), a 50/50 joint venture between Fosun International Limited and Prudential Financial, Inc., marked the start of its operations with a grand opening ceremony in Shanghai today.

In September, PFL received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to launch operations. PFL, which has registered capital of RMB 500 million, is the first life insurance joint venture in China to receive approval from CIRC in the last three years.

During the ceremony, Fosun's Chairman Guo Guangchang and Prudential's Vice Chairman Mark Grier expressed their confidence in the new company.

Guo said, “Fosun believes financial services will be a high growth industry in China in the future. As a shareholder of PFL, Fosun will leverage its own advantages to provide the joint venture with abundant channel resources.”

Grier noted, “China's emerging life insurance industry presents significant growth opportunities for the business. There is no better partner than Fosun to help us develop a strong presence in the Chinese life insurance industry. By combining our life insurance expertise with Fosun's track record in China and the PFL team's insights, we are confident that we will build a strong company known for providing competitive products and excellent customer service.”

In his welcoming remarks at the ceremony, Kenny Wu, PFL's general manager and a 27-year veteran of the Chinese life insurance industry, said, “PFL has arrived at a critical time for the life insurance industry in China, as demand is growing for comprehensive protection for the livelihoods of families around the country. We are confident that this market will continue to grow over the long term, and we are implementing a differentiated strategy to meet the needs of our customers – one that always puts their needs first.”

Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU, a financial services leader with approximately $1.005 trillion of assets under management as of September 30, 2012, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/. Pramerica Financial is a trade name used by Prudential Financial, Inc. Prudential Financial, Inc. of the United States is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.

About Fosun Group

Founded in 1992, Fosun Group is a classic story of success after China's reform and opening-up. On July 16, 2007, Fosun International (00656.HK), the parent company of Fosun Group was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As of June 30, 2012, Fosun's assets under management were more than RMB 158 million.

As of today, Fosun has developed its growth model with four engines, namely insurance, industrial operations, investments and asset management. Meanwhile, Fosun continued to transform itself into an insurance-oriented investment group, with a view to effectively implementing Fosun's investment philosophy of value investment. These efforts have been making steady inroads into establishing Fosun as a premium investment group with a focus on China's growth momentum. Currently, Fosun mainly invests in sectors that would significantly benefit from the growth in domestic demand of China, such as consumption and consumption upgrade, financial services, resources and energy, and manufacturing upgrade, with a view to participating in the rapid development of China's economy. For more information, visit http://www.fosun.com