MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Great Eastern Donates to
Earthquake Victims in Chongqing

Singapore, 15 May 2008: Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd and its JV life insurance company in China will donate a total of 2 Million RMB to the earthquake victims in Chongqing.

Great Eastern Life Assurance will donate 1 Million RMB to the Chongqing Government to provide relief to earthquake victims in Chongqing. We will make the donation through the Red Cross Society in Chongqing.

In addition, Great Eastern Life Assurance (China) Co Ltd (“GELC”) has pledged 1 Million RMB to rebuild two schools in Chongqing that have been destroyed by the earthquake.

Operational since June 2006, GELC is a 50:50 joint-venture life insurance company between Great Eastern Life Assurance in Singapore and Chongqing Land Properties Group in China, and headquartered in Chongqing. Half of GELC’s staff are based in its head office on the 50th floor of Chongqing World Trade Center in the Yuzhong district.

The earthquake on Monday 12 May 2008 was felt by the staff as the World Trade Centre building shook badly. They were quickly and safely evacuated from the WTC building and the building was closed for the building management to conduct surveys to ensure that the building is structurally sound.

In the meantime, critical staff of GELC have been operating from a temporary office in the neighbouring JW Marriott Hotel, as well as the branch office in Yangjiaping and the sales office in Jiangbei, to ensure that operations and customer service and queries can be carried out as smoothly as possible.

The inspection on Chongqing WTC has been completed and the building is certified safe. GELC is likely to resume full operations from its WTC office tomorrow, 16 May 2008.

On behalf of the Great Eastern group of companies, Mr Tan Beng Lee, Director & Group CEO of Great Eastern Holdings, said, “We are very saddened at the number of lives lost as a result of the earthquake in the Sichuan province. We extend our sympathies to all those who have lost their loved ones and who have been badly affected by the earthquake.

“In addition to the donations from Great Eastern Life Assurance and GELC to Chongqing, staff in the companies in our group, including Singapore and Malaysia, will be doing their part to contribute to the various organisations which have launched their donation drives.”

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About Great Eastern
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 $46.4 billion in assets and 3 million policyholders, with two successful distribution channels - the tied agency force and bancassurance. The Company also operates in China, Indonesia and Brunei and 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 $180 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
email: Boon-GekMudeliar@lifeisgreat.com.sg

or

Margaret Lim
AVP (Corporate Communications)
Tel: 6248 2103
email: MargaretLim@lifeisgreat.com.sg