(Yicai Global) Oct. 6 -- “We remain optimistic about the future of China, and China has always been a strategically important market in the very long term, said the chairman and chief executive officer of German insurance giant Allianz in an interview before the IBLAC meeting.

“We have been following China and Shanghai since the beginning of the 20th century,” said Oliver Baete, adding that Allianz entered the China market back in 1905 when it provided fire marine insurance to local customers. “We have been committed to the market and were very happy when the market started to open up, especially in the past 20 years when China’s financial market enjoyed enormous growth.”

With the support of the Shanghai government and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Allianz China Life become the first wholly foreign-owned life insurance company in China.

We chose Shanghai as Allianz China Life’s headquarters out of the following considerations, said Baete. Shanghai is a world-class metropolitan area, attractive to many people and many sectors, particularly in finance. As a major port and with e excellent connections to the outside world, Shanghai is particularly welcoming to foreign investors. Besides, with several leading universities, Shanghai also has the talent that international firms need to grow.

“If the opening up continues, as a long-term investor and partner of Shanghai, we will eventually have exactly the same opportunities as local companies, and we're very much looking forward to that,” said Baete.

Allianz is committed to bringing leading Environmental, Social, Governance approaches to asset management through cooperation with regulators, industry players, peers and clients to foster the understanding of what sustainable investment really means and how to best serve the local Chinese market, he said. This year, Allianz is partnering with leading local financial institutions to launch a co-branded ESG wealth management product with an initial investment of CNY2 billion (USD281 million).

Allianz will continue to integrate ESG in its investment strategy and support the financing of green transition projects.“We hope to provide strong support for China to achieve its decarbonization goals,” he added.

The 34th International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai will kick off tomorrow with the theme 'Promoting green, low-carbon development for urban sustainability.’ Heads of multinational corporations will advise the megacity of Shanghai on the green economy during the event.