CV Starr & Co is considering setting up an insurance joint venture in Shanghai, Maurice R. Greenberg, its chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday in the city.

The United States-based company is interested in exploring opportunities to set up a joint venture in the city due to the increasing need for insurance products, Greenberg told Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng yesterday.

CV Starr is a privately held company with insurance agencies and a portfolio of global investment.

The company manages its own investment activities along with clients' funds. The company has investment professionals in New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Moscow. The company focuses on private and public equity, real estate and debt investing.

The company has already shifted an investment team from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Greenberg said.

Greenberg said he thought that China, especially Shanghai, could lead the way in recovering from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Mayor Han said Shanghai will offer better policies to develop its service industry, including the financial sector.

Han said the city's service industry is better cushioned than the manufacturing industry, which posted some contractions in the first half due to the impact of the global financial crisis.

However, the service industry grew stably in the first half, he said.

Greenberg retired as chairman and CEO of American Insurance Group in 2005.

(Shanghai Daily July 15, 2009)