HISTORY

Generali Pilipinas brings together three big names in 21st century commerce: Assicurazioni Generali of Italy, the Kuok Group of Malaysia, and the SM Group of the Philippines.

Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. was founded in 1831 in the major port city of Trieste, Italy. The Company now has a consolidated asset base of over US$253 Billion, making it Italy's largest corporation.

The Kuok Group made its name in the late 1940s in Malaysia with its agribusiness firm that started selling feeds and fertilizer. In time it grew into an extensive conglomerate that operated, among other ventures, four Shangri-La Hotels in the Philippines. Insurance is a familiar territory for the Kuok Group as it already operates Kerry Insurance and Jerneh Insurance, two firms that have significant presence in Malaysia.

The SM Group of Companies, through its founder Henry Sy, made its mark on Philippine commerce through the shoe retailing business. Buying shoes by lot from the USA and selling them in his Manila stores in the 1950s, Mr. Sy made Shoemart (SM) a byword in the Filipino consumer's home. By the 1970s, SM was already operating most of the nation's largest shopping malls. Then came its purchase in 1976 of Acme Savings Bank, which was later renamed BDO. To date, BDO has over 220 branches across the Philippines and over P180 billion in assets.

The Joint Venture Agreement among the three determined partners was signed on 26 March 1999 paving the way for the creation of Generali Pilipinas Holding Company that became the springboard for establishing Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Company and Generali Pilipinas Insurance Company in September 1999.

Generali Pilipinas was formally launched on 9 March 2000 with Assicurazioni Generali Managing Director Fabio Cerchiai, then General Manager for International Operations Sergio Balbinot, Mr. Henry Sy of the SM Group, Datuk Khor Chin Poey of Jerneh Asia Berhad and the Kuok Group, and then Insurance Commissioner Eduardo Malinis in attendance.