American International Group, Inc. has announced that it has acquired 18 percent of MicroCred Nanchong, China and the exclusive right to sell micro-insurance to MNC clients for two years.
MNC is the first wholly foreign-owned microcredit company in China. In addition to AIG, MNC is jointly owned by the International Finance Corporation, KfW Bankengruppe, and MicroCred S.A. AIG Micro Financial Services, a unit dedicated to providing financial services and products to low income individuals and micro entrepreneurs worldwide, will spearhead AIG's involvement with MNC.
MNC began operations in October of 2007 and currently offers its clients a micro loan product with an average loans of CNY25,000. It plans to introduce a small business loan product with an average loan of approximately CNY75,000 in mid 2008 for micro and small enterprises located in the Nanchong municipality. The company established its first branch and main office in the Jialing district.
Nanchong, the second most populated municipality in Sichuan, has a population of 7.3 million. There are more than 108,000 registered micro and small enterprises in Nanchong.
AIG Micro Financial Services coordinates AIG's efforts to provide financial services products to low income individuals and micro entrepreneurs worldwide and seeks opportunities to invest in and partner with microfinance institutions worldwide. Headquartered in New York City, AIG Micro Financial Services draws across the breadth of AIG, specifically American International Underwriters, American Life Insurance Company, AIG Financial Services and AIG Investments to become the single contact point for AIG's microfinance and micro-insurance businesses. AIG currently has more than 1.2 million micro-insurance policies in force in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.
