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14/04/2010
[Other]
U.S. health insurer seeks to set up JV in China
The U.S. health benefits provider Wellpoint Inc sought to set up a health insurance firm in China, the China Daily reported Wednesday.
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(Xinhua) -- The U.S. health benefits provider Wellpoint Inc sought to set up a health insurance firm in China, the China Daily reported Wednesday.
The company\'s president and CEO Angela Braly came to China for discussions with potential partners and the industry regulator, said the newspaper.
The joint venture partner should have the same vision as us but need not necessarily be an insurance company. We hope to offer health insurance services through the venture in 2011, the newspaper cited Braly as saying.
China is offering a huge market for foreign insurers with its health reforms moving forward. Private health insurance is increasingly becoming an important complement to government insurance programs.
DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung AG, a German-based private health insurer, in 2004 took a 19.9 percent stake in the PICC Health Insurance Co., the country\'s first health insurer.
South African health insurer Discovery Group purchased a 24.99 stake in a subsidiary of Ping An Health Insurance Co. last December.
China\'s health insurance premiums totaled 10.95 billion yuan (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of this year, up 34 percent year on year, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said. |
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