China needs 5000 actuaries

It is reported that China will need 5000 actuaries in the next 5 years. The average annual salary of an actuary is between 500,000 to 1 mil yuan. The highest salary is reported to be 3 mil yuan paid to Steven Mile of Ping An.

Source: China Daily

Impairment on Ping An's Books

Ping An Insurance willl book in an impairment charge of US$2.3 bil in Q3 on losses from its investment in Fortis.

Ping An paid US$2.5 bil for a 4.2% stake in Fortis in November. Fortis' operations in the Netherlands were taken over by the Dutch government recently.

Source: Business Times

Ping An to Acquire Fortis

Ping An and Fortis signed an MoU for the former to acquire 50% of Fortis Investments. Fortis Investments will be renamed Fortis Ping An Investments. The deal is expected to complete within this year.

Ping An's chairman Ma Mingzhe said the deal would create benefits for Ping An as it could expand to the Asia Pacific region as well as emerging markets.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/20/afx4797082.html