AIG Opens Suzhou Life Insurance Operation.

Business Editors

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has announced that its 100 percent owned subsidiary American International Assurance Company, Ltd. (AIA) has received authorization to open a wholly owned life insurance operation in Suzhou in the Jiangsu Province of the People's Republic of China.

AIG is the first foreign insurance organization to be licensed in Suzhou.

In 1992, AIG was the first foreign insurance organization to receive a license to operate in Shanghai, China. AIG has since been granted licenses to operate in Guangzhou in 1995, and Foshan and Shenzhen in 1999. In May of 2002, AIG was granted a license to operate in Beijing. Approvals for two sub-branches of AIA's existing Guangzhou branch in the cities of Dongguan and Jiangmen in the Guangdong Province are expected shortly.

Commenting on the company's expansion to Suzhou, AIG Chairman M.R. Greenberg said, "We are pleased to receive approval to establish our Suzhou life operation. As an important commercial and industrial center with significant exports and a steady inflow of foreign capital investment, Suzhou is an attractive market with excellent growth potential. AIG has been establishing successful operations in China while benefiting the communities we serve. We are assembling an outstanding team of professionals in order to achieve similar strong results in Suzhou."

AIG is the world's leading U.S.-based international insurance and financial services organization, the largest underwriter of commercial and industrial insurance in the United States, and among the top-ranked U.S. life insurers. Its member companies write a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products for commercial, institutional and individual customers through a variety of distribution channels in approximately 130 countries and jurisdictions throughout the world. AIG's global businesses also include financial services, retirement savings and asset management. AIG's financial services businesses include aircraft leasing, financial products, trading and market making, and consumer finance. AIG has one of the largest retirement savings businesses in the United States and is a leader in asset management for the individual and institutional markets, with specialized investment management capabilities in equities, fixed income, alternative investments and real estate. AIG's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as the stock exchanges in London, Paris, Switzerland and Tokyo.