On September 18, 2014, Fosun and Fidelidade, the largest insurance company in Portugal, jointly presented a splendid cocktail and dinner reception named “Fosun Lisbon Night” with a theme of “Two Cultures United”, welcoming 200 Portuguese and Chinese politicians and business leaders at Lisbon’s famous Pátio da Galé. Participants of this event included Portugal’s Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas, Minister of Economy António Pires de Lima, Secretary of State of Finance Manuel Rodrigues, Secretary of State of Innovation Pedro Goncalves, Deputy Mayor of Lisbon Fernando Medina, Chinese Ambassador to Portugal Huang Songfu; business representatives from Huawei, ZTE, State Grid Corporation of China, Beijing Enterprises Group; representatives from major banks, Vice Chairman of Prudential Financial Mark Grier; and Fosun’s investees in Europe such as representatives from BHF, Osborne, etc. This event also serves as a grand debut after Fosun established its European insurance office and its completion of the acquisition of the Portuguese Insurance Group represented by Fidelidade. With Fosun’s Chairman Guo Guangchang in attendance, Chinese and Portuguese guests witnessed the culture exchange between Fosun and Fidelidade.  All attended guests inspired by the event and pleasantly celebrated the win-win cooperation of Fosun and Fidelidade.

Earlier this year, Fosun has won a bid for acquiring 80% equity interest of Fidelidade, Multicare and Cares, all of which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Caixa Seguros e Saúde, SGPS, S.A.(“CSS”), for an aggregate consideration of Euro1 billion. On May 15, witnessed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, all relevant documents for the closing of the project was signed, marking Fosun’s successful acquisition of majority stake of Portugal’s largest insurance company Fidelidade. Fidelidade occupies approximately 30% market share in the Portuguese insurance sector. The company’s assets include medical insurance company Multicare and travel & transport insurance company Cares. This is the first successful case of having a China-originated enterprise in acquisition an overseas insurance company to date, and a productive attempt by Chinese enterprises to achieve breakthroughs in the insurance sector. It also declares the start of Chinese private capital investments into Portugal’s privatization.

During the event, Fosun’s Chairman Guo Guangchang, as the host, presented a cordial welcome address. Chairman Guo said Fosun is incredibly honored to have won the bidding for an 80% equity interest in the three Portuguese insurance companies under the Portuguese state-owned bank, which marked an important step for Fosun advancing forward with its twin drivers of "Insurance + Investment” based on Warren Buffett model, thereby perfecting Fosun’s insurance business layout. Meanwhile, this successful acquisition has also given Fosun the opportunity to work together with Portuguese enterprises, thereby complementing each other’s advantages and combining China’s growth momentum with global resources to create even more business opportunities. In the future, Fosun will continue to utilize and promote its “twin-drivers” strategy, continue to strengthen its “insurance-oriented comprehensive financial capabilities” and “industrial-rooted global investment capacities”, with a view to realizing greater value growth for its invested enterprises.

Mr. Jorge Magalhães Correia, CEO of Fidelidade, thanked guests for their arrival and delivered a speech saying that “cooperation with Fosun is an important milestone for Fidelidade, and Fidelidade will become an integral, momentous player for Fosun as it contributes new investment channels and helps to realize the benefits of an enhanced win-win model. In subsequent planning and with the guiding support of Fosun, Fidelidade will provide better integration in terms of global resources to not only help secure its current market position, but also develop new regional operations in places like Macau, improve investment management capabilities, and combat risks of uncertainty.”

Huang Songfu, Chinese Ambassador to Portugal, delivered a speech during the event and had high commendations for Fosun’s important position and role in the mutually beneficial economic cooperation between China and Portugal, stating that Fosun’s stake in Portugal’s largest insurance group is a major project for Chinese investments in Portugal and is a declaration of the beginning of Chinese private capital investments in Portugal’s process of privatization. Portugal’s Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas also affirmed Fosun’s important role in the recovery of the Portuguese economy, stating that this project is a milestone for the privatization of Portuguese state-owned enterprises. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed excitement for continued investments in Portugal from Fosun and other Chinese enterprises so that both sides can realize success and promote mutual prosperity and development in both countries.

As Guo Guangchang stressed in his speech, Fosun has made many good investments in Europe like Club Med, Folli Follie, etc., and now, Fosun has a great and strong team in Europe, it is Fidelidade at Lisbon.  Guo Guangchang further elaborated that the momentum of the global economic recovery has been maintained, the European economy, as seen in Portugal, is gradually recovering, and the Chinese economy is shifting from a manufacturing powerhouse to a major capital powerhouse and from a major exporter into a major consumer. These changes will bring about new opportunities for cooperation with the Portuguese Insurance Company and global partnership as a whole. Fosun has fully leveraged its development model of “Insurance + Investment”, it will also gather the global expertise and resources to support the development of Fidelidade in Portugal and in the whole Portuguese-speaking countries. Following the successful completion of the Portuguese Insurance Company acquisition, Fosun successfully matched and commenced a total of 14 equity and debt investment projects for Fidelidade, including investments in the Portuguese power grid company Redes Energéticas Nacionais SGPS, S.A. (REN), China’s leading film distributor with an integrated business chain Bona Film Group, a leading German fashion and lifestyle brand TOM TAILOR. Fosun will continue to stay vigilant and is attentive to other investment opportunities in other sectors of the Portuguese and European market, in particular the sectors of property, tourism and brand products. Fosun will maintain its long-term commitments to Portugal and Europe and further promote investment projects in more sectors and industries. Through this successful cooperation, Fosun also looks forward to becoming an important link in the economic and cultural communication and convergence between China and Portugal, encourage other private enterprises to invest in Portugal, and make greater contributions to economic cooperation between China and Portugal.

During the dinner, Álvaro José Barrigas do Nascimento, Chairman of the Portuguese state-owned bank, exchanged cultural gifts with Guo Guangchang to symbolize China and Portugal’s shared cultural heritage and closer relations.

As Fosun Night drew to a close, guests were immersed in stunning traditional Chinese Tai Chi and Portuguese Fado performances. As the night grew long, especially against the background of the pale blue lights of the Pátio da Galé, this was destined to be a remarkable evening and is a hint of the unending splendor to come.