Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance Company, (PFL)
the proposed 50/50 joint venture between Prudential Financial and
China’s Fosun International, has been officially approved by the
China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to begin
operations.

Kenny Wu, a 27-year veteran of the Chinese
life insurance industry, will serve as general manager of PFL. The
company is expected to begin operating in the fourth quarter of
2012.

Guo Guangchang, chairman of Fosun, said: “The
life insurance industry in China is experiencing rapid growth,
driven by an increasing focus on protecting the livelihoods of
families around the country.

Prudential Financial said the joint venture
with Fosun International has registered capital of RMB 500
million.

As of 30 June 2012, Prudential Financial had
approximately $961bn of assets under management as of June 30,
2012, has operations in the US, Asia, Europe, and Latin
America.

On 16 July 2007, Fosun International, the
parent company of Fosun Group was listed on the main board of the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Until approval of PFL, Fosun Group’s main
investment in the insurance sector has been Yong’an Insurance,
which is a property and casualty insurance company headquartered in
Xi’an with nationwide presence.