Geneva, May 10 (XINHUA) -- The insurer Swiss Life has pulled the plug on its planned expansion in China, preferring to concentrate on its core European markets, according to a report by Swiss Radio International (SRI). 
	
	
 The company said on Friday it had already closed its representative office in Guangzhou city, southern China, and was in the process of closing another in Beijing. A spokeswoman said the insurer did not have a license to sell life insurance in China. 
	
	
 SRI reported that Swiss Life decided to pull out of the Chinese market earlier this year. Last month, it announced it was cutting 800 jobs worldwide as part of a recovery plan. 
	
	
 The company ran into trouble after an expansion drive cut into profits. The bottom line was also hit when management failed to rein in costs. 
	
	
 The report said that Chinese mainland was seen as a massive potential market for insurers, who should find it gradually easier to sell their products now that Beijing had joined the World Trade Organization. The Chinese insurance market grew 40 percent in 2001.