WIENER STÄDTISCHE GROUP

The Vienna Insurance Group intends to pursue further expansion of its leading position in Austria. Although the Austrian insurance market is a developed market, insurance penetration lies significantly below the Western European average, particularly in the area of life insurance. The conversion of the social system and the associated expansion of private retirement plans in particular create new business opportunities for the future. Wiener Städtische would like to make use of this opportunity to further strengthen its market share.

Continuing its previously successful model, the Vienna Insurance Group follows a strategy of entering selected markets in new countries in Central and Eastern Europe, combined with continuous expansion of its local position through organic growth and corporate acquisitions. In addition, the Vienna Insurance Group pursues the goal of being at least one of the top five insurance companies by size in each of its core markets in the Central and Eastern European region (this includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Hungary).

The Vienna Insurance Group’s expansion into the CEE-countries emphasises on a business potential that is based essentially on two factors. One factor is the low level of insurance density in Central and Eastern Europe, which represents only a small fraction of the Western European level. In addition to this, the Central and Eastern European economies exhibit strong, stable growth and therefore disproportionally high demand for financial services as compared to more mature markets. It can be expected that the economic convergence process taking place in the region, along with the associated market opportunities, will continue over the long term.

Best regards

Günter Geyer