As the leader in Taiwan’s financial holding industry, First Financial Holding Co.(FFHC) has joined with Aviva, the world’s fifth largest insurance company, to establish First-Aviva Life Insurance. First-Aviva’s business license was approved by the Financial Supervisory Commission of the Executive Yuan on 31 December 2007. First-Aviva’s management and service teams, comprising experienced financial professionals, are now in place and the business will launch its operations on 2 January 2008.

First-Aviva will primarily focus on the investment-linked insurance products and the various insurance products based on the needs of First Commercial Bank’s wealth management customers in the beginning of its operation. The main distribution channel will be First Commercial Bank (FCB), which has recently been named as the “Best Bank in Taiwan”.

Christopher Knight, CEO of First-Aviva, said: “First-Aviva is the first joint venture between a Taiwanese financial holding company and a foreign insurance group. It combines FFHC’s 100-year banking experience with the insurance expertise of Aviva, the biggest insurance company in the UK. First-Aviva will provide “Double-First” quality for its customers with “Double Security”. We believe that the combination of FCB’s Taiwanese network, Aviva’s global success, and Aviva-First’s strong and robust management team, will enable us to offer comprehensive wealth and insurance planning for customers which is second to none. We’ll work together with them for a brighter future.”

Mr. Knight also stated that “First-Aviva vertically integrates the marketing and manufacturing of the life insurance products and will thereby provide very efficient services to customers. In the early phase of the operation, our strategic focus will be on providing the retirement planning and life protection products designed to satisfy customers’ needs.”

In recent years, FFHC has been setting new records on its profit. Its flagship entity, FCB, is well supported and trusted by customers, and was awarded “The Best Bank of Taiwan” by The Banker in 2007. The Bank’s insurance sales business has also been performing excellently over the past few years, with the revenue from insurance premium ranked as the third-highest in the banking sector in 2006.

As the fifth-largest insurance group in the world, the largest insurer in the UK and a leading insurer in Europe, Aviva is aggressively growing its presence in Asia by leveraging its global bancassurance expertise. Aviva expects the cooperation with FFHC and FCB in Taiwan will make a significant and positive contribution to the growth of its Asian business.

The partnership will not only initiate a new business operation model in Taiwan’s bancassurance industry, but also bring brand new services to the customers of FCB.