GENERALI CHINA LIFE HIKES CAPITAL TO 1.9BN YUAN

Generali China Life, a joint venture between Italy’s Generali and the China National Petroleum Corp, has increased its capital to 1.9bn yuan ($246m). from its initial 1.3bn yuan. The capital increase has been provided equally, meaning that both companies retain a 50% share. Generali China Life, based in Guangzhou and launched in 2002, was the first insurance joint venture approved after China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation. Generali said earlier this year that it intended to become one of the major foreign life players in China by the end of 2008, with an agency force in excess of 10,000. Last year it reported a 6% market share when it opened a branch in Shanghai, in addition to its existing subsidiaries in Beijing and in the Guangdong province city of Fonshan.