The British group PRUDENTIAL acquired, for GBP 133 million, the Japanese ORICO LIFE from ORIENT CORPORATION, one of the largest Japanese credit establishments. ORICO LIFE managed, on 31 March 2000, around EUR 1.1 billion in assets. Thanks to this acquisition, PRUDENTIAL is now present in 11 Asian countries. Its sales have reached, on this continent, GBP 2.8 billion in 2000.