China's sixth licence

Aviva PLC
24 July 2006





News release

24 July 2006


                 AVIVA'S CHINA JOINT VENTURE GRANTED SIXTH LICENCE


Aviva, the world's fifth largest insurer, has received regulatory approval for
its joint venture company, Aviva-COFCO, to establish a branch based in Changsha,
the capital city of Hunan province, in south central China.


This new branch licence will bring the total number of cities in which
Aviva-COFCO has operations to 13.  With branches in six major cities and seven
further sub branches, Aviva is closer to reaching its long-term ambition of
achieving an average 10 per cent market share in 10 provinces or municipal
cities by 2010, referred to as its '10 by 10 by 10 strategy'.


Aviva-COFCO is ranked fifth among foreign insurers in China, in terms of total
premium income (as at the end of May 2006).


The province of Hunan has a population of 65.6 million people. In 2005, Hunan's
gross domestic product (GDP) was RMB647.36 billion and its growth was 11.6%
compared with the national level of 9.9% in the same year. Changsha is the
financial centre of Hunan, with a population of 5.7 million, and is ranked 19th
amongst China's top 50 cities in terms of economic strength.


Charles Anderson, regional managing director of Aviva Asia said:  'This new
development is in line with our longer-term strategic growth ambitions for China
and further extends our reach in this growing market.'


                                    - ends -



Enquiries:



Media:
Vanessa Booth, group media relations manager        [phone]
Sue Winston, head of group media relations          [phone]


Analysts:
Charles Barrows, investor relations director        [phone]
Jessie Burrows, head of investor relations          [phone]



Notes to editors:



•     Aviva plc is the world's fifth-largest insurance group and the UK's
largest insurance services provider (based on gross worldwide premiums at 31
December 2005), and is one of the leading providers of life and pension products
to Europe, with substantial positions in other markets around the world.



•     Aviva's principal business activities are long-term savings, fund
management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £35 billion and
assets under management of £317 billion at 31 December 2005.



•    In Asia, Aviva has long-term savings operations in Singapore, India and
Hong Kong. In China, Aviva-COFCO Life Insurance Limited is a 50:50 joint-venture
with China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Import and Export Corporation
(COFCO), one of China's largest State owned enterprises.



•     The Aviva media centre at www.aviva.com/media includes images, company and
product information and a news release archive.




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