The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) announced today (Tuesday, 13 May 2003) the appointment of its Governing Committee for the term 2003/2004:

Chairman: Edward Lau Manulife (International) Limited

Deputy Chairman : Kin-por Chan Hang Seng Insurance Company Limited

Members: Roddy Anderson Dah Sing Life Assurance Company Limited

Manlo Cheung Blue Cross (Asia-Pacific) Insurance Limited

Jackie Chun Cologne Reinsurance Company plc

Richard Ip American International Assurance Company ( Bermuda ) Limited

Keith Land Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance ( Hong Kong ) Limited

Anthony Lau Sun Life Financial ( Hong Kong ) Limited

Terry Lo HSBC Life (International) Limited

Ross Matthews American Home Assurance Company

Mr Edward Lau has more than 20 years experience in the life insurance industry while Mr Kin-por Chan has been engaging in the general insurance industry for more than a decade.

Under the Governing Committee of the HKFI, there are two Councils responsible for dealing with all technical matters in respect of general insurance business and life insurance business. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the General Insurance Council are Mr Jackie Chun and Mr Keith Land respectively. As regards the Life Insurance Council, Mr Terry Lo and Mr Richard Ip are its new Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively.

The HKFI was established in August 1988 and enjoys full recognition by the Hong Kong SAR Government as the representative insurer body of the industry. It exists to promote insurance to the people of Hong Kong and build consumer confidence in the industry by encouraging the highest standards of ethics and professionalism amongst its Members.

Biographies of the various chairmen and deputy chariman

The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers Chairman 2003/2004
Edward Lau

Mr Lau was the Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers and the Chairman of the Retirement Scheme Working Group for 2002/2003. He has also held various positions within the Life Insurance Council, including Chairman of the Council in 1998/1999 and is currently a member of the Insurance Claims Complaints Panel, the General Committee of Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau, the Guidelines Committee of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Operation Review Committee.

Mr Lau is Senior Vice President and General Manager, Hong Kong, Manulife (International) Limited (MIL), and is responsible for the overall development of Manulife's business operations in Hong Kong and Macau, including insurance, provident funds, and mutual funds businesses.

Mr Lau has 23 years of experience in the insurance industry. He joined Manulife Financial in Canada in 1982 and transferred to Hong Kong in 1984 as Manager of Systems Development. He has held various senior management positions in Manulife Financial's regional office in Asia. In 1992, he returned to the Hong Kong operations as Agency Vice President and since then, Manulife's Hong Kong business has grown tremendously. In 1996, Mr Lau was promoted to Vice President and General Manager for both Hong Kong and Macau. Mr Lau is a member of the Board of Manulife-Sinochem, Chairman of the Manulife Charitable Foundation and a member of the Board of Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited, which is registered as a securities investment advisor and dealer under the Securities Ordinance. He is also a member of the Investment Committee of MIL.

Mr Lau holds a Bachelor of Computer Sciences degree from Concordia University and an MBA degree from York University, both in Canada.

The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers Deputy Chairman 2003/2004
Kin-por Chan

Mr Chan is the Chairman of the Employees Compensation Insurer Insolvency Bureau which was set up in February 2003. He has been a member of the Governing Committee for the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers since 2001, a Councillor of the General Insurance Council for six years and was elected Chairman of the Council for 2001/2002. Mr Chan has served as an Honorary Secretary of the Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau since 1995.

Mr Chan has been appointed by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) as a Council Member since 1999 and from 1998 to 2001, he also served the HKIAC as an Advisory Council Member. He is a Director and the Honorary Secretary of the Chinese Insurance Association of Hong Kong Limited, having served as its Chairman in 1998 and 1999. He is also an Executive Board Member of the East Asian Insurance Congress for the term 2002 - 2004.

Mr Chan is currently serving the HKSAR Government as a member of the Insurance Advisory Committee, a member of the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board and a member of the Administrative Appeals Board. Since 1998, he has been a member of the Election Committee for the Legislative Council of the HKSAR. He is also a member of the Working Group on Marine Insurance under the Financial Market Development Task Force set up by the Insurance Authority as well as a co-opted member of the Working Group on Construction Site Safety and Employees Compensation Insurance set up by the Provisional Construction Industry Co-ordination Board.

Apart from being an Assistant General Manager and the Head of Insurance Group of Hang Seng Bank, responsible for the Bank's general insurance, life insurance and MPF businesses, Mr Chan is also a Director and General Manager of Hang Seng Insurance Company Limited and a Director of Hang Seng Life Limited. He is a Chartered Insurer and an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, UK.

General Insurance Council Chairman 2003/2004
Jackie Chun

Mr Chun was the Deputy Chairman of the General Insurance Council and the Task Force on Employees' Compensation Review, Chairman of the Professional Standards Sub-committee and the Task Force on Chinese Medicine, a member of the Governing Committee of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers and the Reinsurers' Forum for 2002/2003. He is also a member of the Insurance Agents Registration Board.

Nominated by the General Insurance Council, he serves on the Insurance Training Board of the Vocational Training Council, and Skills Upgrading Scheme of the Education and Manpower Bureau. He also represents the Council on the Advisory Council of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and serves on the Financial Services Advisory Committee of Hong Kong Trade Development Council since 1998.

Mr Chun has been actively engaged in industry related works for years and has served as the Chairman of the Insurance Institute of Hong Kong, the Chinese Underwriters Club and the Hong Kong Insurers Club. He is an executive committee member of the Hong Kong Society of Certified Insurance Practitioners. In 2000, he was elected a member of the 12 insurance representatives to the Election Committee (Insurance) for the Legislative Council of the HKSAR.

Mr Chun is currently the General Manager of GeneralCologne Re Hong Kong branch office. He has over 30 years of insurance and reinsurance experiences in Hong Kong and abroad. He qualifies as a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of the UK (FCII) and a Chartered Insurer. Mr Chun holds a MBA degree from a UK university and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of the UK .

Life Insurance Council Chairman 2003/2004
Terry Lo

Mr Lo was the Deputy Chairman of the Life Insurance Council, a member of the Governing Committee of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, the Deputy Chairman of Professional Standards Sub-committee and the Chairman of the Professional Standards Working Group for 2002/2003. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Life Risk Management Working Group for 2001/2002, and a Councillor and the Treasurer of the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong.

Mr Lo is the Chief Executive and Director of two Hong Kong authorized life insurers, namely HSBC Life (International) Limited and Hang Seng Life Limited. He has more than 20 years experience in life insurance industry and has obtained the qualification of an actuary in 1988. In 1994, he joined HSBC Life (International) Limited as Chief Financial Officer.