[English Translation] February 16, 2006 MSI Awarded “Best Trading Company in Asia” in Weather Derivatives for 2nd Straight Year Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. (President: Hiroyuki Uemura) was awarded “Best Trading Company in Asia” as the best Asian player in the weather derivatives by a British monthly magazine “Environmental Finance” for the second consecutive year. 1.Prize name “Best Trading Company in Asia” 2.Description of the award (1) Best Trading Company in Asia (i) Annual contest sponsored by a British monthly magazine “Environmental Finance”   (ii) Laureates are selected by voting made yearend by about 30,000 subscribers. (2) Last year’s prize was awarded to the team of MSI and Guaranteed Weather, MSI’s business alliance partner, following 2004. MSI was the first that introduced the weather derivatives business in Japan in 1999, and has led the market since then. It is also the most aggressively globalizing player from the Asia-Pacific region and chairs jointly the Asia Pacific Committee of the Weather Risk Management Association, an International weather derivatives dealers’ association. MSI will continue to upgrade its business in the rapidly growing weather derivatives market as eminent player.