Doing Business in China Could Net Marsh & Mac Fast Growth

In January of this year, Marsh & McClennan Cos. gained entry into the Chinese market after receiving the first insurance brokerage license for a wholly owned foreign firm in the country. It looks as if this is paying off for Marsh, with the firm projecting revenue increases of 30% to 50% this year as compared to 2006, according to Paul Wilkins who heads the Marsh unit in the Greater China region.   
  
The majority of China's approximate 300 insurance brokers are entirely owned and run by domestic players, with limited joint ventures. Marsh, in addition to the offices it has in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, is planning to set up more branches in other locations. Wilkins stated that Marsh unit in China has 106 employees and is planning to double its personnel every few years.  
  
Marsh is putting its resources where its research indicates. In a recent survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting, a Marsh sister company, more than 90 percent of multinational companies feel that China is important to their global strategies.   

Published on June 7, 2007