Erste Bank JPMorgan Merrill Lynch International

SUMMARY OF THE PROSPECTUS
This Summary constitutes a brief, general overview of the essential content of the Prospectus. It
should be taken only as an introduction to the Prospectus and is not a substitute for reading the entire
Prospectus.
Any decision by an investor to invest in the Offer Shares should be based on a consideration of
the Prospectus as a whole. Investors should thoroughly consider all information and risk factors
described in the Prospectus.
Where a claim relating to the information contained in this Prospectus is brought before a court, a
plaintiff investor might, under the national legislation of the relevant member state of the EEA, have to
bear the costs of translating this Prospectus before the legal proceedings are initiated. In the event
that such legal proceedings are initiated before a court in Austria/the Czech Republic, a German/
Czech translation of the Prospectus will be required, and the costs thereof will have to be borne
initially by the plaintiff investor and ultimately by the party held to be responsible therefore in the legal
proceedings.
Civil liability attaches to any persons who have tabled the Summary including any translation
thereof, and have applied for its notification, but only if the Summary is misleading, inaccurate or
inconsistent when read together with the other parts of this Prospectus.
Unless otherwise indicated, all financial data contained in this section has been audited.
Company Profile
With approximately 17 million customers, the Vienna Insurance Group is among the largest
international insurance groups in the CEE region based on gross premiums written, which amounted
to EUR 6,911.9 million in 2007 (2006: EUR 5,881.5 million) (Source: Internal analysis based on data
for the first three quarters of 2007 of the national insurance associations and supervisory authorities).
It has life and non-life insurance business operations in Austria and in 22 other countries, primarily in
the CEE region. In the CEE region, the Group is active in Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia,
Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia
(through a branch of Wiener Städtische AG), the Czech Republic, Turkey and Ukraine. The Vienna
Insurance Group operates independent companies in Germany and Liechtenstein and also operates
in Italy through a branch of Wiener Städtische AG.
In addition to its solid position in its home market Austria, the Vienna Insurance Group is primarily
growing into the emerging markets of the CEE region. The insurance business outside Austria is
gaining increasing importance for the Group (share of overall gross premiums generated outside
Austria: 2007 – 46.5%; 2006 – 41.6%; 2005 – 36.7%). Based on its internal analysis of the local data
of national insurance authorities, the Vienna Insurance Group believes that, with a market share of
approximately 12.1%, it is the second largest insurance group based on gross premiums written
among Western publicly traded insurance companies operating in the Core CEE markets (excluding
Serbia). Based on the same analysis, the Vienna Insurance Group believes that no other Western
publicly traded insurance group generates a higher percentage of its group premiums from operations
in the CEE countries.
In sales and distribution, the Vienna Insurance Group pursues a multi-brand strategy. The most
important brands under which the Vienna Insurance Group operates include “Wiener Städtische” and
“DONAU” in Austria, “Kooperativa,” and “CPP” in the Czech Republic, “Kooperativa,” “Komunálna “and
“Kontinuita” in Slovakia, “Compensa,” “BENEFIA,” “Royal Polska” and “PZM” in Poland, and “Omniasig,”
“Unita,” “Asirom,” and “Agras” in Romania. The Vienna Insurance Group also pursues a multibrand
strategy in the remaining CEE countries in which it is active.
The Vienna Insurance Group’s business activities comprise three core lines of business: property
and casualty insurance, health insurance and life insurance.
In property and casualty insurance, the Vienna Insurance Group offers products for private
individuals, private households, small, mid-sized and large businesses under different brands. For
private and commercial customers, the Vienna Insurance Group is increasingly offering products that
encompass several insurance classes, which makes it possible for the customer to choose between
various product versions in a modular system. For corporate customers, the Vienna Insurance Group
offers customized insurance solutions for large customers.
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