MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Great Eastern Declares Special Bonus of
$287 Million for 2007
This One-Off Special Bonus Coincides with
the Company’s 100th Anniversary

Singapore, 19 February 2008: Great Eastern is pleased to announce that its insurance subsidiaries, Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd and Overseas Assurance Corporation Ltd, will give a One-Off Special Bonus for the year 2007.

This One-Off Special Bonus will be given to Participating Regular Premium Whole Life and Endowment Policies bought on or before 31 December 2006. It will be given in addition to the usual annual Reversionary and Cash bonuses declared for Participating life policies.

The bonus amount ranges from 25% to 100% of the usual annual Reversionary bonus or Cash bonus for Whole Life policies and from 25% to 50% for Endowment policies. It will be distributed from April to August 2008.

This Special Bonus for the two companies in Singapore amounts to $287.4 million.

The rates for the 2007 annual Reversionary, Cash and Terminal bonuses remain the same as 2006. These annual bonuses payable for 2007 (excluding the Special Bonus) amount to $799.1 million, comprising $593.7 million for regular bonuses and $205.4 million for Terminal bonuses. The combined bonus payout, inclusive of the Special Bonus, will amount to $1.09 billion.

The payment of this One-Off Special Bonus is in line with our commitment to give the best value to our customers. The strong investment returns of the Participating Funds in recent years have contributed to a stronger surplus position for the Participating Funds. Part of this surplus will therefore be distributed back to policyholders in the form of this One-Off Special Bonus.

This is the second time that Great Eastern has declared a special additional bonus, over and above the usual annual Reversionary bonus and Cash bonuses declared for Participating life policies. For the year 2004, Great Eastern Life gave a Special Bonus to all Participating Regular Premium Whole Life and Endowment Policies bought before 2002, as a result of higher investment income from the sale of OCBC Bank shares under the Selective Capital Reduction exercise by the Bank. That Special Bonus amounted to $214.8 million and cost $110.5 million.

Director & Group CEO, Tan Beng Lee, said, “Great Eastern is very pleased that it is able to celebrate its 100th anniversary with our loyal policyholders with this Special Bonus. In 2007, Great Eastern reached and even exceeded its 2008 PAT goal of $500 million. Our Profit After Tax was $546.9 million for 2007, about 9% higher than our target of $500 million for 2008.

We will continue to provide the best possible returns to our policyholders and to pursue service excellence to meet rising customer expectations.”

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About Great Eastern

For 100 years, we have grown with you.
Thank you for your trust and support.
As we journey into the next 100 years and beyond, we remain dedicated to making life great with financial security, good health and meaningful relationships.

Founded on 26 August 1908, Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd has the distinction of being the oldest and most established life insurance company in Singapore and Malaysia.

In November 1999, Great Eastern Holdings Ltd was incorporated and became the holding company of Great Eastern Life. Overseas Assurance Corporation Ltd, incorporated in 1920 as the first composite insurer in Singapore, merged with Great Eastern Holdings in December 2000.

Today, Great Eastern is the largest insurance group and the market leader in Singapore and Malaysia, with $46.5 billion in assets and 3 million policyholders, and with two successful distribution channels - the tied agency force and bancassurance. The Company also operates in China, Indonesia and Brunei. It will be starting operations in Vietnam by the middle of the year.

Great Eastern is a subsidiary of OCBC Bank, Singapore’s longest established bank with assets of $170 billion and a network of over 460 branches and representative offices in 15 countries and territories. Great Eastern’s subsidiary, Lion Capital Management, is one of the largest asset management companies in Southeast Asia.

For more information, please contact:

Boon-Gek Mudeliar
Head (Corporate Communications)
Tel: 6248 2215 or
email: Boon-GekMudeliar@lifeisgreat.com.sg