Alarmed by the prospect of US interest rate hikes, Japanese life insurance companies are purchasing foreign bonds at a much slower pace and shifting more of their investment focus to real estate and infrastructure. Japan’s 10 major life insurers are expected to increase their holdings of foreign bonds by JPY2.9 trillion to...
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has entered into exclusive talks with Hong Kong insurer FWD Group to sell its life insurance arm, which could raise USD3 billion (THB103 billion) for Thailand’s third-biggest lender, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. A successful deal would rank as the largest insurance M&A...
Kotak Mahindra Bank has agreed to buy out its UK-based partner Old Mutual’s entire 26 percent stake in its life insurance arm for INR1,292.7 crore (USD201.2 million). “In line with its philosophy to deepen and expand in Indian financial services, KMB has entered into an agreement to purchase the entire 26 percent...
Swiss Re announced plans to establish a dedicated regional legal entity in Singapore for its Reinsurance business unit. This legal entity will, at the same time, become Swiss Re’s regional headquarters for its network of reinsurance operations in Asia. Swiss Re Asia, will be wholly-owned by its Zurich-based global parent,...
Insurance regulator IRDAI has asked the life insurance behemoth LIC to prepare a roadmap to pare its stake to 15 per cent in firms where it breaches this ceiling, but has stopped short of setting a timeframe for the same. As of end March, LIC owned more than 15 percent...
Myanmar is opening up its Thilawa special economic zone near Yangon to international insurance companies, part of a market liberalisation effort expected to gain momentum this year. The government does not allow foreign insurers to offer their services outside of Thilawa, a Myanmar-Japanese joint venture and the country’s only operational...
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has revised motor third party insurance premium of vehicles with effect from April 1, 2017. For passenger cars above 1,500 cc, the new rate will be INR8,630 as against the current rate of INR6,164. For cars with engine capacity between 100—1,500...
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a catastrophe for severe tropical cyclone Debbie, which made landfall in northern Queensland as a major Category 4 storm, with the potential to cause billions in losses. Cyclone Debbie came ashore between Bowen and Airlie Beach after having raked the Whitsunday’s and...
Standard Life has agreed to sell its Hong Kong arm, Standard Life Asia, to its Chinese joint venture, Heng An Standard Life Insurance Company (HASL). The transaction is subject to obtaining local regulatory and other approvals in Mainland China and Hong Kong and it is anticipated that this could take...
SBI Life is set to enter Bahrain in next financial year and is awaiting regulatory permission to open a branch there, a top company official has said. “We are all set to expand and enter Bahrain next financial year and we have already received the approvals from IRDAI for the...
