Allianz& Dazhong Life Insurance Co. Ltd., the joint venture of German insurer Allianz AG Holding and China's Dazhong Insurance Co., has obtained a license from the China Insurance Regulation Commission to sell life insurance products at its Guangzhou branch, according to information available on the company's Web site.

Allianz said the license to sell life insurance policies in the local Guangzhou market, the first granted outside Shanghai, marks a significant step in its long-term plan to develop a regional presence in China.

"We plan to launch further branches in China in 2005, depending on whether the authorities give their approval," Heinz Dollberg, head of Allianz's Asia Pacific operations said Wednesday.

Allianz also expected to receive regulatory approval to convert its Chinese property insurance business at the Guangzhou branch into a subsidiary by March at the earliest, Dollberg said.

Last year, Allianz had targeted the end of 2004 for the conversion.

The Munich-based insurer planned to open at least two branches a year in China to increase business in the region, said Allianz board member for growth markets, Werner Zedelius, in published reports Wednesday.

Operations of the Allianz Dazhong life insurance venture had been confined to the eastern coastal city of Shanghai, and the Guangzhou branch in Guangdong had been limited to sell property insurance in the local area.

Allianz opened its Guangzhou branch in February 2003, and will now offer customers individual financial planning services, including finance, life insurance and wealth management.

The firm has hired and trained a new team of financial planners to staff the sales initiative.

Specific targets for Allianz's Chinese life insurance business for 2005 were unavailable, Dollberg said. Firms doing business in China must receive official local and regional licenses for each line of business before they begin operations.

Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies