Overseas insurance company Lloyd's says it will fund the building of a new primary school in southern China.

The facilities will benefit 225 families in the village in Pingba, Laomeng in the province of Yunnan, who were forced to leave their homes and relocate because of flooding. The RMB760,000 donation will provide a school for more than 200 children.

Lord Levene, chairman of Lloyd's, said, "Lloyd's recognizes the importance of education in building the economic and social infrastructure of a country and we are delighted to announce our partnership with China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to build a school in Yunnan. A good basic education is fundamental to the life blood of any community and Lloyd's believes the new school will make a meaningful and long-lasting contribution to the lives of children in Yunnan."

The administration of the school will be overseen by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Construction of the school will begin shortly and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2008.

Lloyd's says it has a long history with China and received formal license approval from the China's Insurance Regulatory Commission to open an onshore reinsurance company in Shanghai in April 2007. Before gaining permission to underwrite onshore reinsurance business, Lloyd's had been providing offshore reinsurance to China for over three decades.