Insuring Growth

ING is among the top three foreign companies in China's life insurance market. But the firm has bigger ambitions, says Patrick Poon, the avuncular Hong Kong finance guru who was until recently charged with heading up the firm's expansion in the Mainland. ING has been spending big recently to ensure "sustainable development in its various businesses which span the insurance, banking, and asset management sectors," explains Poon. Some of those expansionary yuan went on buying a stake in Bank of Beijing, one of the country's better-regarded lenders. In southern China, the Dutch-based multinational operates through Pacific Antai Life headquartered in Shanghai - a joint venture with China Pacific Holdings - with operations in Dongguan, Guangzhou, Nanhai and Shunde. In the North, the firm operates through ING Capital Life, a Dalian-headquartered joint venture which operates branches in Beijing, Shenyang and Jinan in a link up with the Chinese-owned Capital Group.

Insuring Growth