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