Giles Brennand, BCG's vice president and the author of the report, said that the strong growth of China's life insurance business should be attributed to the expansion of Chinese urban residents' financial assets.

China's penetration rate--the ratio of total life insurance premiums to GDP--is still only 2.5 percent, about half the world average. However, the sector's growth has been exponential since the late 1990s.

China's group life insurance business, a lucrative arena, will open to foreign insurance companies at the end of 2004.

Brennand stated that the long-term winners, both domestic and foreign, will be those that best manage increasing customer demand, the evolving regulatory environment and their own internal capabilities and resources.

He said the ability to offer superior, trustworthy and reliable service to consumers, and cultivate the most profitable customers, will be critical to success.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2004)