Prudential 2003 Annual Report Download - page 12

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
continue to represent a major
growth opportunity for Prudential
Financial. Today the cornerstone of
our international business is
International Life Insurance, which
has had remarkable success in the
last decade.
While we will continue to invest
in the life insurance business, we
are now also expanding into asset
management and private client
activities in a number of countries.
Looking to the future, we
believe the combination of insur-
ance and investments places us in a
strong position to grow our client
base and earnings in major markets
around the world.
Japan
Prudential of Japan is the leading
life planner business in the country.
It relies on its life planner distribu-
tion force—made up of well-
educated, highly trained, commis-
sion-compensated career agents.
Prudential of Japan markets life
insurance to affluent clients using a
consultative sales method based on
a thorough analysis of client needs.
Through challenging economic con-
ditions, the company has continued
to outperform its competitors.
Our other insurance company in
Japan, Gibraltar Life, represents
one of our best international acqui-
sitions. In 2001, we acquired the
bankrupt Kyoei Life Insurance Co.,
Ltd.—the 11th-largest insurer in
Japan in terms of assets—and
renamed it Gibraltar Life. We are
currently focused on recruiting,
training and improving the pro-
ductivity of Gibraltar’s sales
professionals, who are called Life
Advisors.
Importantly, Gibraltar contin-
ued to strengthen its relationship
with some of its key customer
bases—most notably a half-century-
old relationship serving teachers in
Japan, through a strong affiliation
with the Japan Educational Mutual
Aid Association. Gibraltar now has
customer relationships with almost
50 percent of the approximately
1 million teachers in Japan.
Korea
In 2003, for the sixth year in a row,
Prudential’s highly successful 13-
year-old life insurance operation in
Korea was voted the No. 1 life
insurer by the Korea Productivity
Center, a nonprofit quality man-
agement organization. Prudential of
Korea is ranked ninth in the world
in terms of Million Dollar Round
Table membership, with 553 mem-
bers, making it the highest ranked
of all our international operations.
In several other independent rank-
ings, Prudential of Korea is ranked
as one of the country’s most trusted
insurance companies in terms of
business quality and customer satis-
faction. This strong performance
derives from its highly motivated
field force of life planners, and is
reflected in high policy persistency.
In our investment management
business, Prudential signed a definitive
agreement to purchase an 80-percent
stake in Hyundai Investment and
Securities, in November of 2003. The
transaction, which closed in early
2004, strengthens Prudential’s invest-
ment management capabilities and
makes us the largest foreign asset
manager in Korea.
10 Growing and Protecting Your Wealth
“We plan to focus on a limited number of
countries, prioritize the affluent market,
and develop business platforms based on
life insurance and investment management.”
RODGER LAWSON
Vice Chairman,
International Insurance & Investments Division
Strengthening Our Global Franchise
Life Planner Growth
4,989
4,104
4,505
2001 2002 2003