AXA S.A. is a French global insurance group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. AXA is a conglomerate of independently run businesses, operated according to the laws and regulations of many different countries. The AXA group of companies engage in life, health and other forms of insurance, as well as investment management. The group operates primarily in Western Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific region, and the Middle East.

The AXA Group encompasses five operating business segments: Life & Savings, Property & Casualty, International Insurance (including reinsurance), Asset Management and Other Financial Services. It ranks as the 9th largest company in the world (based on revenue) on the 2010 Fortune Global 500 list.^[2]

History[link]

The company was originally founded in 1816 as Mutuelle de L'assurance contre L'incendie (the Ancienne Mutuelle).^[3] It acquired Compagnie Parisienne de Garantie in 1978 and became Mutuelles Unies.^[4] It went on to buy the Drouot Group in 1982, at which time it adopted the AXA name.^[4] The takeover of The Equitable, a well-known American insurer, came in 1991.^[4] It bought Union des Assurances De Paris (UAP), France's largest insurer, in 1996 becoming AXA-UAP for a while before reverting to the name AXA in 1999.^[5] Then in February 1999 AXA acquired Guardian Royal Exchange.^[6] In May 2000 AXA acquired all shares it did not already own in Sun Life & Provincial Holdings.^[7] On 14 June 2006 AXA acquired the leading Swiss insurance company Winterthur Group from Credit Suisse for approximately €9 billion.^[8]

The AXA name[link]

Despite being written in upper case, "AXA" is not an acronym, but was chosen because^{[citation needed]} its name can be pronounced easily by people who speak any language^{[citation needed]}. After acquiring the Drouot Group in 1982, the company hired an outside consultant to conduct a computer-aided search for a new name. The selection criteria consisted of a short and snappy name to convey vitality, a name that begins with the letter A so that it would appear near the top of all lists, and something that could be pronounced easily in every language, consistent with the group's desire for an international presence. In 1985, Chairman and CEO Claude Bébéar chose the name AXA.^[9]

Axa Group global locations

Operations[link]

In the United Kingdom[link]

AXA trades in the United Kingdom as AXA Sun Life, AXA Insurance, AXA Investment Managers and AXA PPP Healthcare. AXA PPP Healthcare was created when AXA bought Guardian Royal Exchange (GRE), though it subsequently sold the other parts of GRE to Aegon. The company also owns the online insurer Swiftcover, distribution business Bluefin and fund manager Architas. In January 2007 AXA was reorganised into "strategic business units" (SBU's) aimed at competing within their specific markets.

AXA run its investment branch through AXA Investment Managers (IM) which is headed by John Cook. The UK's largest insurer is Aviva.

AXA Sun Life[link]

AXA Sun Life was created following the merger between AXA Equity & Law and Sun Life Assurance Society PLC. In 2006 Winterthur Life in the UK was absorbed although AXA continue to use the Winterthur brand for high net worth wealth management business. The business units are:^[10]

• AXA Wealth – This includes AXA + Winterthur's Bonds + Individual Pensions, AXA Distribution Services who offer the Elevate wrap platform and Architas.
• Corporate Business – AXA + Winterthur's Group Pensions. AXA intend to create a "Market Leading" group pension proposition using Winterthur's 'Embassy' IT platform.
• Protection – This business aims to market AXA's Protection Account as AXA continues to build on its presence in this area with the intention of becoming a leading protection provider.
• Traditional Business – Concentrating on policies which are still in force but no longer actively marketed.
• Sunlife Direct – This business focues solely on selling protection & savings products directly to those in the UK.
• Bancassurance – This business is responsible for an advisory and sales force that sell AXAs products and propositions.

AXA sold AXA Sun Life Holdings Ltd to Resolution Limited in autumn 2010.^[11][12]

On the Isle of Man[link]

AXA Isle of Man Limited was originally created as a subsidiary of AXA Sun Life in the United Kingdom, but since the Isle of Man is not a part of the United Kingdom it is regulated instead by the laws of the Isle of Man. AXA Isle of Man Limited advertises itself as a repository for citizens of the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands who seek to shelter their assets from high taxation.

While the company trades upon the AXA logo, name and group advertising which promotes the total wealth of the group, the assets of the Isle of Man company are limited to those of the Isle of Man company itself.

AXA Schengen[link]

AXA Schengen Travel Insurance provides insurance to travelers who need a visa to enter the Schengen Area.

In Canada[link]

AXA Canada offers insurance services through a network of affiliates operating in the different Canadian regions such as Quebec, Ontario, Western Canada and Atlantic Canada. In 2009, the company had a total of approximately 2,300 employees and 4000 brokers and advisors. The head office is in Montreal, Quebec. In 2011, AXA's Canadian operations were acquired by Intact Financial Corp. for C$2.6 billion.^[13]

In the United States[link]

The American arm of AXA is AXA Equitable. AXA Equitable consists of many subsidiaries; AXA Advisors, LLC, AXA Network, AXA Equitable Life Insurance, Mutual of New York (MONY), US Financial Life, and AllianceBernstein.

On December 15 of 2006, AXA Advisors, LLC entered into agreements with LPL (Linsco Private Ledger), the country's largest independent broker-dealer. LPL agreed to provide brokerage, clearing and custody services on a fully disclosed basis. The terms of the agreements are five years, subject to additional 24-month extensions. Services are expected to begin in August 2007.

In Mexico[link]

In July 2008, AXA acquired ING Insurance Mexico, they are offering essentially the same services that ING offered. The Chairman in Mexico is Xavier de Bellefon.

In Asia Pacific[link]

AXA Life Insurance operated in the Asia Pacific region as 'AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd. (AXA APH) which is the former National Mutual Life Association of Australasia founded by actuary John Montgomery Templeton The AXA Collection and was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The head office of AXA APH was located in Melbourne, Australia, and there was a major regional office in Hong Kong. AMP acquired AXA Asia Pacific in 2011; it retained AXA APH's Australia and New Zealand operations, and sold the Asia operations to AXA.

AXA Asia - Based in Hong Kong, the AXA Asia Regional Office is responsible for supporting the Group's existing operations in Hong Kong, China and South East Asia, propelling its perpetual growth, and looking for new markets and business development opportunities for AXA in Asia.^[14]

AXA General Insurance operates in the Asia Pacific region as AXA Asia P&C. The head-office of AXA Asia P&C is located in Singapore.

AXA has entered the Indian market through Bharti Enterprises as a joint venture. AXA has three ventures in India, Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd. and Bharti AXA investment Managers, and is also present in fusion with OYAK, as AXA OYAK, in the Turkish market since 1999.

The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company of the Philippines subsequently entered into joint ventures with corporation the National Mutual Holdings Ltd. of Australia to create Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corporation.

Capital Ownership[link]

• U.S.A. 18.8%
• France 16.5%
• United Kingdom 11.5%
• AXA Employees 6.5%
• BNP Paribas 5.4%
• Edward L. Skyward 5.1%
• Sumitomo Mitsui 4.0%
• Qatar Investment Authority 3.8%

Capital Ownership at December 31, 2010^[15]

Head office[link]

The head office of AXA is located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.^[16] AXA, which already owned 23 Avenue Matignon, acquired the former Hotel de La Vaupalière, an 18th century building, in the late 1990s. Architect Ricardo Bofill integrated the facade of the hotel with a modern glass building that covers the courtyard that the hotel also occupies. The complex serves as AXA's head office.^[17]

Philanthropic initiatives[link]

Besides its artistic and social philanthropic initiatives (AXA Heart in action), AXA created the AXA Research Fund in 2008. Endowed with € 100 millions, it provides support for research focused on understanding and preventing the risks threatening the environment, human life and our societies.

256 basic-research projects were funded within three years, including 230 young researchers, PhDs or in postdoctoral year, working in laboratories all around the world. In addition to this support, AXA gathers every year the young fellows to meet a world-class researcher, exchange best practices and network, above any education or discipline.

The Fund has also awarded 11 endowments for several million euros supporting research institutions of excellence ( HEC Paris, NUS, University of Bristol, LSE, MetOffice, INSERM, IHES...). These Research and Education Chairs intend to attract the best scientists. For example, the AXA - Polytechnique Chair in Cellular Cardiovascular Engineering, held by Abdul Barakat, aims to promote research on cardiovascular diseases, but also to train and develop young researchers through extended educational programs.

The 256 research projects funded as of today are implemented in 22 countries with researchers of 42 different nationalities. The Scientific Board is chaired by Ezra Suleiman and composed of eminent members of the academic world and AXA Group representatives.

Website and list of supported projects: www.axa-research.org.

See also: Science;Fundamental science; Funding of science;Pascale Cossart, member of the Scientific Board; José Scheinkman, member of the Scientific Board; James Vaupel, member of the Scientific Board; Brian Hoskins, member of the Scientific Board; AXA website

See also[link]

• AXA Private Equity
• European Financial Services Roundtable

	Paris portal
	Companies portal

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: AXA

• Official website
• AXA Asia Pacific Holdings official site

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Henri de Castries
Born	Henri de Castries (1954-08-15) August 15, 1954 (age 57) Bayonne, France
Occupation	CEO

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Henri de La Croix de Castries, 5th Comte de Castries (born August 15, 1954 in Bayonne) is a French businessman. As of December 2011^[update] he is Chairman and CEO of AXA^[1][2] since May 2000. His father is probably Christian de Castries, the commander of the doomed French garrison at Dien Bien Phu. In an October 2010 interview with the Singapore Business Times newspaper, he states that his father fought in Indo-China after the Second World War.

Education[link]

• School at Ecole Saint-Jean-de-Passy
• High school at Collège Stanislas in Paris^[3]
• 1976 : Graduated from HEC Paris (same year as Serge Lepeltier and Denis Kessler)
• 1980 : Graduated from ENA (Promotion Voltaire, same one as Dominique de Villepin, *François Hollande and Ségolène Royal)
• law degree

Career[link]

• 1980-1984 : auditing on behalf of the Minister of Finances of France
• 1984 : becomes a member of the French Treasury
• 1986 : participate in the privatisation initiated by the Chirac government
• 1989 : joins the central financial direction of AXA
• 1991 : Appointed general secretary of AXA, in charge of restructurations and mergers (integration of compagnie du Midi)
• 1993 : Appointed general director of AXA
• 1994 : In charge of North America and UK
• 1996 : in charge of the merger and integration with Union des assurances de Paris (UAP)
• 1997 : President of the Board of Equitable (which became AXA Financial)
• 2000 : incumbent : President of the Directorate of AXA
• 2010 : Chairman of the Bilderberg Group's Steering Committee^[4]

Henri de Castries is also an administrator of the Association pour l'Aide aux Jeunes Infirmes (an NGO aiming to support young handicapped people) and is President of AXA Atout Cœur.

References[link]

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Jin Au-Yeung
Jin in the earlier days of his rapping career
Chinese name	歐陽靖 –
Chinese name	歐陽靖 (Traditional)
Chinese name	欧阳靖 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Ōuyáng Jìng (Mandarin)
Jyutping	au1 joeng4 zing6 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Jin-Au Yeung
Ethnicity	Hakka
Ancestry	Hong Kong [1]
Origin	Hong Kong[2][3]
Born	(1982-06-04) June 4, 1982 (age 30) Miami, Florida, United States
Other name(s)	Jin, MC Jin, Jin the Emcee, The Emcee, 100 Grand Jin
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter, actor
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Instrument(s)	Vocal
Label(s)	Ruff Ryders/Virgin, Crafty Plugz, Draft Records, Imperial, Universal Music Group, Catch Adventures
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Carol Au-Yeung[4]
Influences	Big Pun, Eric B and Rakim, Big L
Official Website	MC Jin A I Y A ! (old website)

Jin Au-Yeung (traditional Chinese: 歐陽靖; simplified Chinese: 欧阳靖; Mandarin Pinyin: Ōuyáng Jìng; Jyutping: au1 joeng4 zing6; Cantonese Yale: Āuyèuhng Jihng; born June 4, 1982), who performs under the stage name MC Jin (earlier, 100 Grand Jin and Jin the Emcee or even just The Emcee), is an American rapper^[5][6][7], songwriter, and actor.^[2][3] Growing up in the Miami, Florida area and later living in New York City, he decided to reside permanently in Hong Kong before returning to New York to reside permanently in the summer of 2012.^[2][3] He is fluent in both Cantonese and English. Back in the United States, he was both the first East Asian and Chinese solo rapper to be signed to a major record label.^[8][9]

Jin is managed by talent manager Carl Choi.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Jin Au-Yeung was born on June 4, 1982, in Miami, Florida, to Hong Kong Chinese immigrants.^[10] He was raised in the general Miami area, where his parents owned a strip-mall Chinese restaurant, and where Jin attended schools. While a student at John F. Kennedy Middle School in North Miami Beach, Jin participated in many rap battles with his peers.^[11]

2001: Freestyle Friday[link]

After graduating from high school in 2000, Jin decided to forgo college^[12] and moved him and his family to Flushing, Queens, New York City, in 2001.^[11] He began performing freestyles and selling his own mix tapes on the streets, in hip-hop clubs and wherever else possible. While battling on the streets he was spotted by Kamel Pratt who then became his manager and they formed Crafty Plugz Entertainment. His big break came when the BET program 106 & Park began inviting local rappers to hold battles in a segment known as Freestyle Friday. He won all seven battles in a row, enabling him to be inducted in the Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame.

2002–2005: Ruff Ryders Era[link]

That same night of his Hall of Fame induction, he announced that he had signed a deal with the Ruff Ryders. His first single under Ruff Ryders was titled "Learn Chinese". It took a sample from the 1992 song "They Want EFX", from hip-hop group Das EFX. The second and final single for the album was originally supposed to be "I Got a Love" featuring Kanye West, but was later changed to "Senorita" because Roc-A-Fella Records did not want to over-expose Kanye West. The album was originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 2003, but was delayed for over a year by the label. In October 2004, Jin released his debut album, The Rest Is History, which reached number 54 of the Billboard Top 200 albums chart.^[13] Both of his singles, "Learn Chinese" and "Senorita", failed to be major mainstream successes. Nonetheless, Jin's music video "Learn Chinese" was the first video ever to be played on MTV Chi.

In 2003, Jin made an appearance in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious as a mechanic named 'Jimmy'. His song "Peel Off" was featured on the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. At the Yello Bar on Mulberry Street in Chinatown, Manhattan, Jin was shot at by Raymond Yu, a member of the Chinese American gang, Ghost Shadows.^[14][15] Jin's fellow Chinese American rapper Christopher Louie (aka LS) stepped in and was shot in the back of the shoulder; Jin was not hit and was unharmed. Louie survived the shooting and left hospital and continued rapping. He also collaborated with British Indian Bhangra artist, Juggy D, in the song "Kohl Aaja (Come Closer)", when he was in London doing some promotion for The Rest Is History.

2005–2008: After Ruff Ryders[link]

On April 23, 2005, Jin and rapper "Serius Jones" engaged in a rap battle. The battle was featured on Fight Klub DVD^[16]

On May 18, 2005, Jin revealed that he would be putting his rap career on hold in order to explore other options. To make this clear, he recorded a song titled "I Quit", which was produced by the Golden Child. The announcement was widely misunderstood to have marked the end of Jin's rap career. However, he later re-emerged under a different alias, The Emcee, and freestyled over such songs as Jay-Z's "Dear Summer." He released a single called "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)" where Jin displays his lyrical talent in explaining the history of hip-hop's greatest artists. The legendary DJ Kool Herc, who is credited as the founder of hip-hop, appears in Jin's music video. After signing with an independent label, CraftyPlugz/Draft Records, Jin released his second album, The Emcee's Properganda on October 25, 2005. Jin was also featured on the Taipei-based pop artist Leehom Wang's 2005 album Heroes of Earth.

Jin and Leehom performed their “Heroes of the Earth” collaboration live in Shanghai on February 16, 2006 at an event arranged by Chinese A&R exec Andrew Ballen. Ballen was also the first promoter to bring Jin to mainland China in 2003 for his “The Rest is History” tour.^[17]

Jin released two albums in 2006. The first one, 100 Grand Jin is a mixtape/album that was released on August 29, 2006. The single released off the album is "FYI", for which the rapper shot and released a music video. The second album released in 2006 is Jin's third LP, I Promise.

On Jin's MySpace, Jin mentioned that he is working on another English album named "Birthdays, Funerals and Things In Between". Jin premiered a song called "Open Letter to Obama" on April 24, 2007, which made him become 1st on Barack Obama's Top 8 list on MySpace.^[18]

On April 16, 2007, Jin made a tribute song to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre called "Rain, Rain Go Away".^[19] Recently Jin has decided to make his November 1, 2006 Internet album put together by Roy P. Perez© and his team of producers at Romeo Ent., I Promise, available in retail stores. It will be out on October 23, 2007.^[20]

Jin released a new song through his MySpace page. The song is titled "Fill In The Blanks", and Jin encourages his fans to record their own verse into the song.

2008–present: Catch Adventures[link]

Jin has done a collaboration with an Malaysian MC Point Blanc track titled "One Day".^[21] The Music Video can be viewed on YouTube.

He has recently released a demo song called Worst Enemy which has garnered over 130,000 views on his Myspace.^[22] He also put the song Welcome To The Light Club on his Myspace page.^[23] Jin is a Christian, stating in his song "Welcome to the Light Club" he was baptized in 2008.^[24] He has featured in Far East Movement's "Millionaire". He has done a track over a DJ Premier joint titled "World Premier". He is also collaborate with producer Trendsetter aka Mark Holiday.^[25]

Jin currently resides in Hong Kong. He stars frequently in commercials there, and making numerous appearances on TVB like Big Boys Club. He is also seen as an important part of recent Asian Hip Hop trends.^[26]

He has recently thrown out a Hip-Hop Census in honor of the 2010 Census and Chinese New Year 2010. As said by Jin, this mixtape is open to anybody and will be mixed from the general population along with Jin. He released a mixtape entitled "Say Something", on May 15, 2010. Jin has released an album with his friend Hanjin in 2010.

On July 10, 2010, Jin collaborated with Mandarin singer Hanjin Tan (Chinese: 陳奐仁) to release another Cantonese album 買一送一. Jin also released a music video for his English single "Angels".

In December 2010, Jin joined forces with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang to release a Christmas music video entitled "Rap Now 2010", which he performed for free. The video featured a number of lines ending with "Act Now!" (起錨), echoing a Hong Kong government slogan.^[27] A CNN report described the video as an "official eyesore" and "a political message thinly veiled as a Christmas card", and further criticised Jin's rapping as resembling "awkward nursery rhymes", in contrast to his earlier performances.^[28] However, local newspaper The Standard, in response to critics, stated in an editorial that "Tsang, like the millions who post videos of themselves or their loved ones, only wants to have fun."^[29]

On March 7, 2011, Jin released a music video for a song from his upcoming English album entitled "Charlie Sheen," collaborating with artists Dumbfoundead and Traphik/Timothy DeLaGhetto. Jin released an EP titled "Sincerely Yours". Jin released his new single called "Shoot For The Moon" on June 4, 2011.

On February 12, 2011, MC Jin and his Chinese American wife, Carol, got married in Puerto Rico.^[4] On May 16, 2011, Jin released the track "AIYA" featuring label-mate, Toestah. He released a video on his youtube channel consisting of hundreds of pictures of fans holding the aiya logo.

On August 8, 2011, Jin released an all Cantonese album, "Homecoming" in Hong Kong. And has since released several singles and music videos on youtube.

Jin also announced that he is working on his next English album for 2012. Jin has since returned to the United States to reside permanently in New York again

Other activities[link]

Responding to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Jin participated with Jackie Chan and numerous other celebrities in a special three-hour charity concert on 1 April 2011 to help raise funds for Japan's disaster recovery effort.^[30][31]

AIYA![link]

AIYA! is Jin's catchphrase and has been used by him many times recently. It is also a typical phrase or interjection used by Chinese people that simply means "Oh my gosh!" An image/logo has been created recently that was designed by Tom Ngo. The Logo could be printed out and then you could take a picture of yourself with it and get into the video for his song "Aiya!"(featuring Toestah).^[32] The catchphrase and its logo have been used in many places related to Jin. An "AIYA!" shirt will be available soon. Jin also refers to his fans as his "AIYAfambam" or as the "AIYAmaniacs".

Discography[link]

Music videos[link]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

Rap battles[link]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Further reading[link]

• Jay, Jennifer W (2008). "Rapper Jin's (歐陽靖) ABC: Acquiring spoken Cantonese and transnational identity through restaurant culture and Hong Kong TV". Proceedings of the 20th North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics: 379–391. http://chinalinks.osu.edu/naccl-20/proceedings/20_jay-j.pdf. 

References[link]

External links[link]

	Asian Americans portal
	Biography portal
	Hip hop portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jin (rapper)

• Official Website
• Old Website
• Jin at the Internet Movie Database
• Jin on Myspace
• Jin(English)'s channel on YouTube
• Jin(Cantonese)'s channel on YouTube
• Jin(English - old)'s channel on YouTube