ING Group is a global financial institution of Dutch origin with over 113,000 employees, offering banking, insurance and asset management services to 60 million clients in 50 countries. ING has maintained a presence in China since 1886 and operates in major cities across the country including Beijing, Dalian, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. ING employs more than 8,500 staff in China and is keen to maintain a strong track record as a pioneer in China's financial markets.

ING is the only foreign insurance company in China with two life insurance licenses, in Shanghai through Pacific Antai Life Insurance Company, and in Dalian through ING Capital Life Insurance Company. In February 2004, Pacific Antai Life opened a branch office in Guangzhou and ING Capital Life launched branch operations in Beijing in January 2005. ING is one of the top ranked foreign insurance companies in China.

ING's wholesale banking activities in China are managed from Shanghai, where ING has a fully operational branch, with a representative office in Beijing. ING is active in lending, financial markets and corporate finance in China, providing Renminbi and foreign currency debt financing and M&A advisory services to both local and international companies and institutions, as well as private banking services operating out of Hong Kong. In 2003, ING was one of the first foreign financial services companies to be granted Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor status, enabling ING to offer its clients access to China's A-share market and renminbi-denominated treasuries. In 2004, ING was also one of the first foreign banks to be granted a derivatives license. In March 2005, ING was one of the first foreign banks to be awarded market maker status for onshore FX trading of foreign currency pairs. ING aims to be the provider of choice for foreign and local investors, who are keen to expand their business in one of the world's most exciting markets.

ING's investment management businesses are also among the first to have established a presence in China through ING Investment Management operating via its joint venture, China Merchants Fund Management (CMFM), and ING Real Estate.

CMFM has risen to date approximately RMB30 billion (US$3.6 billion) in assets under management and is the only Sino-foreign joint venture to be awarded a mandate from the National Council for Social Security Fund.

ING Real Estate established a representative office in Beijing in 1996 and a real estate investment management company in Shanghai in 2003. ING Real Estate recently acquired the property developer and manager, Rodamco Asia, which has also substantially served to increase its assets under management to the current level of US$300 million. The company currently has three residential properties in Beijing and Shanghai for lease, two residential projects under development in Shanghai and manages one office project and one residential project in Beijing.

On March 25, ING announced an agreement with the Bank of Beijing to acquire up to a 19.9 per cent holding for a consideration of approximately RMB 1.78 billion (EUR 166 million) as part of a broader strategic alliance. This investment will provide a platform for ING to sell insurance and investment products to increasingly affluent customer-base in the Beijing market. It also gives ING a presence for the first time in the retail banking market in China.

ING in Society
In China, ING has actively participated in several social and economic reform programmes, and has sponsored a number of educational and charity initiatives. In 2003, ING and the Beijing Municipal Education Commission (BMEC) announced plans to support the city's preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games and the establishment of an ING Beijing Olympic Fund to which ING would contribute EUR200,000 annually for three years until 2006. The Fund is used for the development and training of Beijing's gifted young sportspeople and for the organization of Olympic-related sporting events. ING and BMEC are planning to organize a cross-strait high basketball exchange programme in early July in which a top Taiwan high school team will be invited to visit Beijing.

ING announced in 2004 its donation of €180,000 (RMB1.8 million) towards a drinking water, sanitation and hygiene project in the province of Liaoning in North-East China in cooperation with the Red Cross, China. The project will run from 2004 to 2006. ING, in collaboration with the Red Cross in China will fund the installation of safe drinking water supplies and latrines, and will provide hygiene education to households in selected villages in the province.

In Dalian, ING Capital Life has spent around RMB800,000 to support the city government launch a city-wide project called 'Resthouse'. The project employs 100 women to take care of elderly who live or their own or have no children to support them. The project received recognition from the citizens and government in Dalian as well as from staff of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Editor: Donald