No job losses, more growth and ample capital - the new president and chief executive officer of AIG General Insurance Co China highlighted these points at his first media briefing yesterday in Shanghai.

John J. Carey, president and CEO of AIG General China, reinforced the stability of the company despite concerns over liquidity surrounding AIG in New York.

Carey said the company's solvency is "well above" regulatory minimum.

The company told Shanghai Daily yesterday that its unaudited solvency capacity is 760 percent at the end of June, or 7.6 times the minimum requirement set by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

"The message from me is very clear and consistent, our head count will not be reduced. On the contrary, with the opening of our Beijing branch, we will recruit more people to join us," said Carey.

The Beijing branch is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2009. The insurer has branches in Shanghai, Guangdong and Shenzhen on the mainland.

AIG General China is a subsidiary of AIU, which is the non-life insurance subsidiary of AIG operating overseas and regulated separately from AIG.

"Just like what Nicholas Walsh, president and CEO of AIU, said in his address to all employees - employee compensation, benefits and retirement plans remain unchanged - and, more importantly, employees' personal opportunities for growth remain as bright today as yesterday. I stand on the same line with him," Carey said.

"We (AIG General China) will carry on business as usual," he said. "We are fully capitalized and ready to grow including introducing new products and developing local staff in China."

AIG, the world's biggest insurer, secured a two-year US$85-billion bailout loan from the Federal Reserve last week to duck a demise already befallen on investment banking giant Lehman Brothers.

Carey yesterday also cleared away speculation that AIU assets will be sold to pay for the Fed loan.

"AIU is the crown jewel in AIG's global insurance business. As our new CEO Ed Liddy stated recently, the insurance operations are core to AIG's future. They are not being considered for sale," he said.

(Shanghai Daily September 26, 2008)