BEIJING, June 21 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Citibank (China) Co., Ltd. ("Citibank") and Sino-U.S. MetLife Insurance Company Limited today announced the launch of a new insurance offering in Beijing, the Wealth Selected Protection Plan (B). The new offering has been designed specifically to meet the needs of Citibank’s customers. The launch sees Citibank become the first foreign bank to sell investment unit-linked insurance in Beijing.
(Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/200706211755.jpg )
Mr. Anand Selvakesari, Executive Vice President of Citibank (China) Co., Ltd., said, "Citibank is delighted to be the first foreign bank in Beijing to sell investment linked insurance from Sino-U.S. MetLife. We aim to ultimately look after all the wealth management needs of our customers over their entire life cycle, and we view the launch of Wealth Selected Protection Plan (B) as an important one that provides our customers in China with a new investment option."
Mr. Brent Bell, General Manager of Sino-U.S. MetLife, noted, "The Bank insurance business in China is an emerging area with a very promising future. Sino-U.S. MetLife is pleased to be partnering closely with Citibank to provide life insurance products to Citibank’s customers. Leveraging from MetLife’s nearly 140-year history, and experience in serving nearly 70 million customers worldwide, Sino-U.S. MetLife is committed to providing superior customized protection and investment products to Citibank’s customers."
The Wealth Selected Protection Plan (B) is comprised of funds solutions from fund management companies selected by Sino-U.S. MetLife, following a rigorous selection process. The product is designed to act as an investment vehicle, allowing customers to invest capital while enjoying financial protection.
Customers can either choose or build a portfolio on their own from 3 baskets of funds, namely "Money Market", "Balanced" and "Equity", depending on their investment horizon and risk appetite. The product requires a minimum subscription of 100,000 Renminbi. Features of the new offering include:
-- Protection in the event of accidental disability. If the customer is
disabled in an accident listed in the contract, he or she will be
provided with a 10-year annual accidental dismemberment income benefit.
-- The provision of three different investment account options, allows
customers to choose their favored investment solutions according to
their risk appetite. Customers can also add investment value or
withdraw cash out of their account value without surrendering the
policy at anytime and switch funds to explore investment opportunities.
MetLife will evaluate the investment account value everyday and
announce the unit price of every investment account. Customers can
find out their wealth information through a service hotline.
-- Sino-U.S. MetLife will provide a short message service for Citibank’s
customers to inform them of their account information when there are
any changes to their account.
The Wealth Selected Protection Plan (B) was launched in China after extensive development and preparation. The offering is unique to Citibank, and was tailor-made to meet the needs of Citibank’s customers. It is available to Chinese nationals too since Citibank Beijing has received regulatory approval to offer local currency services to local residents.
About Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at http://www.citigroup.com or http://www.citi.com .
About Citi China
Citi first established an office in China on May 15, 1902, in Shanghai. Today Citi is the premier foreign bank operating in China, offering the broadest product range of any foreign bank in China. Citi currently operates six corporate & investment bank branches -- Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chengdu, seventeen consumer bank outlets in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, and one representative office in Xiamen. With operations in more than 100 countries around the world, Citi is the most global of all foreign banks in China.
About Sino-U.S. MetLife
Sino-US MetLife Insurance Company (MetLife) is an affiliate of MetLife, Inc. and Capital Airport Holding Company (CAHC) which was incorporated as a joint venture between Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Capital Airport Holding Company (CAHC). MetLife, Inc. is a leading provider of insurance and financial services with operations throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. Through its affiliates, MetLife, Inc. reaches more than 70 million customers around the world, is the largest life insurer in the United States (based on life insurance in-force) with over 138 years of experience, and serves more than two-thirds of the FORTUNE 500R(R) companies. The MetLife companies offer life insurance, annuities, automobile and home insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. The business scope of CAHC, a company with the management of assets over 100 billion, includes management and construction of airports, investment and funding, hotel, travel and financial services. CAHC owns Capital Airport, a gateway airport of China. MetLife offers life, accident and health solutions in China through a career agency distribution system and other distribution channels. For more information about MetLife, please visit the company’s web site at http://www.metlife.com.cn .
(Footnote)
FORTUNE 500(R), April 2007. FORTUNE 500(R) is a registered trademark of FORTUNE(R) magazine, a division of Time, Inc.
MetLife is the #1 life insurer in the U.S., based on premiums as of Q3 2006, LIMRA International, Inc., November 2006.
