Atradius and Tokio marine set up joint venture company in Japan

Amsterdam, 22 May 2006 – Atradius Credit Insurance N.V. and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Co., Ltd. today announced the opening of a joint venture service company that will support both companies in the offering of export credit insurance to corporations in Japan. The new company, which will be called Tokio Marine Nichido and Atradius Credit Management Co. Ltd., will be based in Tokyo, Japan and will be owned 50% by Atradius Credit Insurance N.V. and 50% by Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Co., Ltd. Atradius and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire have been working together to develop the export credit insurance market in Japan through a co-operation agreement since April 2005.

Wilfried Verstraete, CEO of Atradius commented, “This is a further step in our Asian growth strategy and an important increase of our presence in Japan in addition to our local branch office activities. Atradius has a great deal of expertise in and knowledge of export credit insurance as well as access to information on more than 45 million companies worldwide. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire has an extensive distribution network and well-established reputation in the Japanese market. The combination of these assets creates a powerful platform on which we will together rapidly develop and grow our export credit insurance business in Japan.”

The Joint Venture Company which is being staffed by a combination of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire and Atradius employees will service export credit insurance policies issued to Japanese based companies by either Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire or Atradius. The Joint Venture Company has two executive directors, Mr. JunichiSekiguchi (from Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire) as Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Bert van Haagen (from Atradius) who as Deputy Chief Executive Officer will manage the day to day business operations.

This new joint venture company will strengthen the operations in Japan of both Atradius and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire.

For more information:
About Atradius 
Christine Gerryn
Director Corporate Communications
Keizersgracht 281
1016 ED Amsterdam
Tel.: +31 (0)20 553 2260
Fax: +31 (0)20 553 2212

About Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire:
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd (TMNF) is Japan's largest non-life insurer.
Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Ltd merged with Nichido Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd on October 1, 2004. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd is owned by Millea Holdings, Inc and rated "AA-" by Standard & Poor's (Financial Strength Ratings) and "Aa2" by Moody's (Financial Strength Ratings).