China agrees Citigroup expansion

China agrees Citigroup expansion

SHANGHAI, China: Regulators have approved an insurance joint
venture between The Travelers Insurance Co., part of Citigroup
Inc., and a Chinese insurer, amid the U.S. banking giant's push
into China's nascent financial services industry.

Travelers Insurance will hold a 50 percent stake in the
venture, with the remaining half to be held by local partner
Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd., Citigroup said in a statement
issued on Friday. Shanghai Alliance is an investment arm of the
Shanghai city government.

It took about a year for the China Insurance Regulatory
Commission to agree to Citigroup's request to establish the joint
venture, Citigroup spokeswoman Wang Li said.

The two sides hope to launch the venture by early 2005, Wang
said. -AP