The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said it has given its approval to Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (China) Ltd, a locally-incorporated unit of South Korea's Samsung Corp, to open a branch in Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province.

It will be the second unit for Shanghai-based Samsung Fire (China), which was founded in April 2005. It opened a Beijing branch in August 2006.

The insurer reported premium income of 193 million yuan ($26.44 million) in the first 11 months of 2007.

Samsung Corp also has a 50-50 life insurance joint venture with China National Aviation Holding Co, the parent of Air China.