BEIJING and PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CIGNA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer H. Edward Hanway today received the distinguished Marco Polo Award, the highest honor bestowed by China to a foreign business leader. Hanway joined the ranks of past Marco Polo recipients, including former President George H. W. Bush, and some of the world’s greatest leaders of business and industry.
“With this award you honor me and my company, CIGNA Corporation. You also encourage all of us in the business arena to further promote and enhance bilateral relations between our two nations,” Hanway said in accepting the award at a ceremony in Beijing.
CIGNA was an advocate for China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and CIGNA became the first American insurance company to establish a joint venture life insurance company in China after China entered the WTO in 2001. Today, CIGNA’s joint venture operation, CIGNA & CMC Life Insurance Co. Ltd., has been recognized as the leader in the direct distribution of protection-oriented life, accident and supplemental health insurance products. Fortune magazine and Watson Wyatt recently named CIGNA’s joint venture operation as one of the top 10 companies to work for in China.
CIGNA has significant operations in Beijing and throughout Guangdong province, and established new operations in Shanghai in late 2005. To accommodate its growth in the marketplace, CIGNA will open a new branch office in Shanghai on January 12 and expects to launch operations in two more provinces in 2006.
“Clearly, we have a long tradition of service in this great country. Since our return to China in 1994, we’ve worked diligently to improve U.S.- China relations and to develop and cultivate the insurance market here,” Hanway said.
CIGNA has a proud history in China. One of its predecessor companies was the insurer for cargo ships sailing between Philadelphia and what was then Canton in 1798. Over the past decade, CIGNA has sponsored many business and cultural initiatives, all with the goal of enhancing the security, health and well-being of China’s insurance customers. For example, CIGNA sponsored fact- finding exchanges and industry training seminars and programs for Chinese insurance regulators and professionals in the United States and China. CIGNA also sponsored a series of performances in China by the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra in an effort to exchange and cultivate cultural understanding between the United States and China.
“CIGNA has a strategic commitment to China for the long term. I’m confident that as we work closely and in cooperation with our friends and colleagues, we can look forward to many, many more years of prosperity and success,” Hanway said.
About CIGNA
As a Business of Caring, CIGNA provides employers with benefits, expertise and services that improve the health, well-being and productivity of their employees. Serving millions of customers, clients and members in the U.S. and around the globe, CIGNA’s operating subsidiaries offer a full portfolio of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and visioncare benefits and group life, accident and disability insurance. For more information, go to http://www.cigna.com.
CIGNA Corporation
CONTACT: Gloria Barone, CIGNA, +1-215-761-4758, Gloria.barone@cigna.com
Web site: http://www.cigna.com/
