China Fund News reporter Lin Xue
Optimistic about the growth of the Chinese market, the global insurance giant has once again increased its investment.
On May 15, Zhongyi P&C Insurance announced that, with the approval of the regulatory authorities, it agreed that CNPC Capital would transfer its 51% stake in Zhongyi P&C Insurance to Generali, which will become the controlling shareholder of its 100% stake. This means that another wholly foreign-owned insurance company was born.
Generali previously said the acquisition was a long-term strategic investment aimed at developing a property and casualty business in China that is fully owned and controlled by the group and expanding its market share in China.
The equity transfer of Sino-Italian property insurance was launched
Another wholly foreign-owned insurance company was born
On May 15, Zhongyi Property Insurance announced that according to the "Reply of the Beijing Supervision Bureau of the State Financial Supervision and Administration on the Change of Shareholders of Zhongyi Property Insurance Co., Ltd.", it was agreed that China Petroleum Group Capital Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as PetroChina Capital) will transfer 51% of the company's equity to Generali Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Generali). After the transfer, Generali will hold 100% of the shares. CNPC Capital no longer holds an equity stake in GCIC.
According to public information, Sino-Italian Property Insurance was established in April 2007 as a joint venture between China National Petroleum Corporation and Generali of Italy, and is the first Sino-foreign joint venture national property insurance company established after China's accession to the WTO, with a registered capital of 1.3 billion yuan.
It is understood that at the beginning of its establishment, Zhongyi Property Insurance was held by Chinese and foreign shareholders with 50% of the shares, and later Generali transferred 1% of the equity held by it to PetroChina, and the shareholding ratio of PetroChina and Generali was adjusted to 51:49. In September 2016, PetroChina transferred its 51% stake in Sino-Italian Property Insurance to PetroChina Capital.
Subsequently, in November 2023, the Beijing Equity Exchange disclosed information showing that CNPC Capital plans to list and transfer 51% of the equity of Zhongyi Property Insurance, with a reserve price of 773.77 million yuan.
On January 10 this year, Generali Insurance announced on its official website that it had signed an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in Zhongyi Property Insurance at a price of about 99 million euros (about 774 million yuan). Upon completion of the transaction, Generali will become 100% controlling shareholder of GCI.
Generali said the acquisition is a long-term strategic investment aimed at developing a fully owned and controlled property and casualty business in China and expanding market share in China.
In February, Zhongyi Property Insurance announced that the company's shareholder CNPC Capital would publicly list and transfer 51% of the company's equity on the Beijing Equity Exchange, and the delisting party was the company's original shareholder Generali Insurance Co., Ltd., and the two parties had signed the "Property Rights Transaction Contract". On January 30, 2024, the company held the third meeting of the sixth board of directors and the second shareholders' meeting in 2024 to review and unanimously agree to the "proposal on changing shareholders".
Now, the deal has received regulatory approval and is finally completed. Zhongyi P&C Insurance has become another insurance company with 100% foreign ownership, and has been preceded by a number of wholly foreign-owned insurance companies such as AIA Life, Allianz Life and HSBC Life.
It is worth noting that PetroChina also established a joint venture with Generali Insurance to establish Zhongyi Life Insurance in 2002 with a registered capital of 3.7 billion yuan and total assets of more than 100 billion yuan. At present, Zhongyi Life Insurance is 50% owned by PetroChina Capital and Generali Insurance.
Optimistic about the growth trend of China's insurance market
Foreign investment has been increased
Founded in 1831, Generali is one of the world's largest insurance and asset management providers, with operations in more than 50 countries around the world and a total premium income of €82.5 billion in 2023, according to its official website. The company employs nearly 82,000 people and serves 70 million customers.
Generali is very bullish on the Chinese market. It said that China is the world's second largest property insurance market in terms of premiums, and the growth trend is quite attractive.
Generali said that as a sole shareholder of GCI, Generali will seek to expand its distribution network in China, build on China's dual-carbon investment, expand green commercial insurance, and leverage the group's global, regional and local expertise to optimize CGI's distribution strategy, among other things.
What is the current development of Zhongyi P&C Insurance, which is 100% owned by Generali?
In terms of performance, in 2023, the revenue of Zhongyi property insurance business will be 1.541 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.93%; The net profit was 32.5978 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.75%.
In addition, in the first quarter of this year, Zhongyi Property Insurance achieved an insurance business income of 525 million yuan and a net profit of 7.9311 million yuan. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the total assets of Zhongyi Property Insurance were 4.235 billion yuan, the net assets were 961 million yuan, and there were 7 provincial branches, and the company's core solvency adequacy ratio and comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio were 157.25% and 158.45% respectively, both of which were lower than those at the end of last year.
It is understood that Sino-Italian P&C Insurance is strategically positioned as an "international" boutique property insurance company with obvious differentiation, specialization and digital characteristics, and proposes to deepen the four key areas of individual insurance business, energy industry chain business, international business and green insurance business. Among them, around the field of green insurance, the force is obvious.
Editor: Huang Mei
Review: Muyu