Chongqing University Insurance Center Event
Opening Remarks (John Kimber Oct.15 2003)
Honorable Vice Mayor Wu, Commissioner Deng, President Li, Professors and Students, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you here today to celebrate the opening of the Liberty Mutual Insurance Center at Chongqing University. On behalf of Liberty Mutual, let me extend our gratitude to Vice Mayor Wu, and the City’s and University’s distinguished leaders for the care and support you all have shown liberty Mutual.
A moment ago, my colleague Mr. Faragher gave a brief introduction to our global company, and mentioned our work as a premier provider of insurance products, focused on helping people live safer, more secure lives. I would now like to take a moment to review Liberty’s history in China. In China, we have focused on our traditional strengths in workers safety, but we have also worked with government and industry to support other important goals, such as Western China’s development, attracting investment to this area of the country, and encouraging the growth of small and medium sized enterprises.
We first established a safety office in Shanghai in 1996. As Mr. Faragher mentioned, we first came to Chongqing to establish an insurance office in 1998. Our Beijing Office opened in June 2000. We’ve arranged three Work Safety Centers: at Fudan University, Chongqing University and Tsinghua University. We’ve conducted a great deal of study on the insurance market in China, and we’ve conducted four Safe Work Forums in conjunction with the State Administration of Work Safety Supervision, the first of which was held in Chongqing in 1999. Next month, we will hold the 5th Safe Work Forum, again in Chongqing.
Chongqing is of high importance to our organization in China. We have pledged our support for the city since we first arrived here. We take pride in delivering on our promises, and, in particular, our commitments to this city. In June 2000, Liberty sponsored the Chongqing International Symposium on Development of Western China. In November 2000, we submitted a business operating application to the Chongqing Office of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. In December 2000, we began our first project with Chongqing University, the Liberty Mutual Safe Work Center Chongqing University. We have also sponsored a Hoper primary school in the Three Gorges Reservoir. In June 2001, we sponsored and took part in an International Symposium on Development of Western China and Chongqing. In August 2001, we completed insurance surveys of 14 cities in Western China and along the Yangtze River.
In December 2001, the Liberty Mutual Safe Work Center at Chongqing University and the Chongqing Bureau of Coal Mine Safety Inspection jointly organized the first Seminar on the Development of Coal Mine Safety Techniques in Chongqing. In March 2002, we worked in close cooperation with the Chongqing Municipality, and received a grant from the US Department of Commerce to conduct a feasibility study here. In May 2002, Liberty Mutual completed insurance market surveys and feasibility studies of 5 key cities, including Chongqing. In October 2002, Liberty Mutual and Chongqing University jointly organized an insurance seminar here. In November, 2002, Chairman Wu officially presented me with a document permitting Liberty to prepare to open a branch office in any city in China. We hope to open our branch in Chongqing.
This Center is designed to train future insurance professionals, providing Chongqing with the tools to make it more competitive in the global economy. Insurance is an important factor in the stable growth of business enterprises. Insurance helps protect and grow businesses and manage risk, which brings investment. Liberty Mutual is a premier provider of property and casualty insurance, and safety and security are a part of that. We at Liberty Mutual hope the opening of this insurance center will contribute to Chongqing’s already impressive development.
Thank you.
Chongqing University Insurance Center Event
Opening Remarks (Faragher)
Honorable Vice Mayor Wu, Commissioner Deng, President Li, Professors and Students, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning. It is an honor to be with you here at Chongqing University in the Great City of Chongqing.
Before I speak further, Mr. Vice Mayor and distinguished guests, on behalf of Liberty Mutual, I would like to express our sincere thanks for the friendship and support you have shown to our organization in the past. We are grateful to enjoy such close relations with Chongqing City.
As you may know, Liberty Mutual is a diversified international group of insurance companies employing 37,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world. We are one of the largest global insurers, and a premier provider of property and casualty insurance incorporating the full range of safety and security related products and services. Supported by the world’s largest occupational safety and health organization, we have been the leading global provider of workers compensation insurance programs and services for over 65 years.
By the end of 2002, the total assets of Liberty Mutual reached $56 billion, total revenues exceeded $14.5 billion, and we were ranked 129th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest US corporations. Liberty Mutual’s international operations cover North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia Pacific. In Asia, we maintain branches in Hong Kong, Singapore. Thailand, and, of course, China.
Last year, Liberty Mutual celebrated its 90th anniversary. Over the entirety of our 90-year history, we have consistently focused on a very important mission:
“Helping People Live Safer, More Secure Lives”
As a premier provider of insurance products, with a focus on safety and security, we provide commercial enterprises with a wide array of property and casualty insurance. We partner with clients to help protect their business and be more successful through program areas including auto, home, property and personal liability insurance. We also provide comprehensive asset management services and we conduct direct investments for our own portfolios. Insurance helps protect and grow businesses and manage risk, which in turn brings investment.
We hope that through training future insurance professionals, this Insurance Center will provide new tools to help Chongqing be more competitive in the global economy.
It is our wish that the Center directly contribute to more robust development for the city.
Liberty Mutual first came to Chongqing in 1998 to set up its China insurance office. We have since pledged our commitment to support the development of the city. We place great emphasis on delivering on our promises. I am proud to say that since 1998, we have made great efforts to promote Western China’s development. We have encouraged investment in China’s Western region, and we as a company have invested here. We have sought to support the success of small and medium sized enterprises, as they drive local economic development. This is a topic on which you will hear more from me later today. Finally, we have worked alongside our partners in government and industry to further a cause that is very near to our hearts, the issues of safety and security.
We hope to see our first operating company in China established right here in Chongqing. With the support of the government, we expect our new company will be operating soon, and positive preparations are underway in this regard. In Chongqing’s encouraging economic climate, and with the assistance of our friends here, we are confident that our company will operate smoothly and successfully to the mutual benefit of our clients and the city.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Insurance Center we open here today at Chongqing University is not only an academic institution to facilitate insurance study and training, but a bridge between Chongqing and the global economy. All of us at Liberty Mutual sincerely hope that we can have increased and enhanced cooperation and communications to improve the prosperous economic environment in Chongqing and throughout China.
Thank you.