PRESS RELEASE

Asia Capital Reinsurance Expects to Write US$340m Non-Life Premium in the First Year of Operations; Obtains Composite License by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Singapore, 24 March 2008 – Asia Capital Reinsurance Group Pte Ltd (‘ACR’) – Singapore’s homegrown reinsurance firm focusing exclusively on the Pan Asian market - has just been granted a composite license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Until now, the company was licensed to write only non-life business.

The new license will help to facilitate the writing of incidental group health covers as ACR looks to developing more specialized product lines. ACR currently provides expertise in large risk underwriting in the specialized areas of marine and aviation, energy, engineering, property and casualty.

This one-year-old company – the brainchild of Mr John Tan, a 30-year reinsurance veteran – is having a very successful first year and has surprised many industry watchers.

“It is a fascinating company which has written a substantial amount of premium, but has also remained quite disciplined,” said The Review in its editorial supplement of the Awards. The panel of judges also noted that ACR “is now a major force in this (Asian) region” and “has been an enormously successful capital-raising exercise” with “an excellent business plan and very good securities.”

Incepted in November 2006, although business really got underway in the first quarter of 2007, the company will pass the US$300m mark in premium income in its first Financial Year.

Said Mr John Tan, ACR’s Executive Director and Chief Executive: “We have been able to grow exponentially, while maintaining good business discipline, thanks to our ability to bring together an international team of reinsurance experts, as well as having a business model that works.”

The company has been able to attract many leading global reinsurance specialists - some of whom left successful careers and senior positions in international firms.

ACR obtained the strong support of blue chip institutional investors such as Khazanah Nasional Bhd - the Malaysian government’s investment arm; UK-based private equity firm 3i Group Plc, as well as Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse after prominent local businessmen backed the venture in its earlier days.

Together they raised equity capital of US$620m – the largest ever private placement for a startup company in Asia.

As a result of its strong capitalization, experienced management team, solid risk management capabilities and the ability to attract highly experienced underwriters, ACR received an initial financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) from AM Best – the world’s leading credit rating company, garnering one of the highest ratings among Asian reinsurers.

This financial rating was re-affirmed by AM Best in December 2007.

In addition, ACR was named ‘Company Launch Of The Year’ in The Review magazine’s 14th Worldwide Reinsurance Awards 2007, while its private placement was voted the ‘Most Innovative Deal – Equity’ in The Asset’s Triple A – The Asset Asian Awards 2006.

As the markets in the United States and Europe become more mature, attention has shifted to Asia. International insurers have started to look to the emerging and deregulating markets for opportunities to balance their global risk concentrations.

Capitalizing on this, ACR is positioning itself to become the leading Asian reinsurer.

The homespun company is aiming to differentiate itself from other reinsurers by building up a pool of expertise focused exclusively on the strong business growth prospects in Asia* and the heightened levels of risk exposures and coverage required by the Asian markets.

Said Chief Underwriting Officer Mr Gerald MacDonald: “All our underwriting authority and capacity is here in Asia, to take on Asian risks. Within Asia, we foresee an increase in demand for specialist insurance products in line with a rise in Asian wealth.”

There is now rapid economic development in Asia with massive investment in infrastructure, often involving cutting edge technologies. A significant proportion of reinsurance premiums has traditionally been ceded outside of domestic markets and Asia as a whole.

Continued Mr MacDonald: “The buoyant economic growth prospects in Asia indicate that the growing demand for protection and insurance coverage will continue. We can expect Asia to demand an increasing proportion of global capacity.”

Beyond Singapore, ACR already has a Joint Venture up and running in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as well as a representative office in Taipei. More recently, it received approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to establish a representative office in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain.

With its sights set firmly on building lasting relationships, ACR will enlarge its regional footprint by establishing itself in markets where its clients are. By establishing a stronger local presence, it can assist its clients in the countries where it operates and deliver solutions to help them manage current and emerging risks, and protect and grow their businesses.

Concluded Mr Tan: “We will continue to monitor the availability of capacity in the market and who is providing it. Equally important are the questions of whether we have the level of expertise to match our competitors, provide innovative products and services that Asian clients demand and have the skills to deploy our own capital effectively. We believe we do”

He added: “We aim to deliver on all of these and with our exclusive focus on Asia we believe we can become the Asian reinsurer of choice.”

Background
Singapore has established itself as an important insurance hub with 160 direct insurers, reinsurers and captives operating here, and is home to a mix of insurance intermediaries such as brokers, reinsurance brokers, captive managers and risk management companies.

Singapore is also the largest domicile for captive insurers in Asia, with 20 of the top 25 reinsurers globally based in Singapore, who collectively control close to 80 per cent of the world reinsurance market.

Judging by its economic progress - 7.5 per cent in 2007 - Singapore's business climate is poised for significant growth as an international player in the global business landscape.

About ACR
Headquartered in Singapore, ACR is the first independent, non-life reinsurance group exclusively dedicated to serving clients in the fast-growing Asian region.

Beyond Singapore, ACR has a Joint Venture in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as well as a representative office in Taipei. It has also received approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to establish a representative office in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain.

Rated A- (Excellent) by AM Best for its financial strength, ACR’s objectives are to deliver a combination of strong Asian dedicated capacity, global underwriting standards and expertise, as well as in-deoth knowledge of the Asian insurance markets to its clients, and to enhance Asia’s stability and security. ACR focuses on large risk underwriting in specialist lines including aviation, marine, energy, property, engineering and casualty.

More information on ACR is available at www.asiacapitalre.com

For more information, please contact:

Mr Peter Monksfield
Head, Communications
Asia Capital Reinsurance Group Pte Ltd
Telephone: +65 63058104
Facsimile: +65 63058111
Email: peter.monksfield@asiacapitalre.com

Ms Liang Hwee Ting
Manager, Communications
Asia Capital Reinsurance Group Pte Ltd
Telephone: +65 65007671
Handphone: +65 96553379
Facsimile: +65 63058111
Email: hweeting.liang@asiacapitalre.com