The inaugural Manulife Investor Sentiment Index in Asia (Manulife ISI), based on 3,500 interviews across seven Asia markets (see table), shows that investors in developed Asia are not confident it is the right time to invest, with Hong Kong and Taiwan the most pessimistic.
Buy Now
Asia Capital Re has opened a branch office in Dubai. The branch - Asia Capital Re's second branch office after Hong Kong - is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and it started operation with effect from 1 April 2013.
Buy Now
HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, has entered into an agreement to sell its group term life insurance and group medical insurance portfolios in Singapore to AXA Life Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd.
Buy Now
XL Group has announced plans to restructure its insurance operations in Asia Pacific. It will create an Asia Pacific insurance region headquartered in Singapore which will integrate its operations in Australia, Singapore, Labuan, Hong Kong and China.
Buy Now
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed the Productivity Commission's Barriers to Effective Climate Change Adaptation report.
Buy Now
With an aim to attract FDIs into the Bangladesh insurance market, the Bank and Financial Division of the Ministry of Finance of the Bangladesh Government has fixed the FDI limit in Bangladesh's insurance sector at 60% of the paid-up capital in any insurance company, thereby giving the foreign investor a controlling stake in the company.
Buy Now
The Chinese government has pledged to help rural people infected with H7N9 virus to have access to medical treatment and to ease their economic burden from the treatment.
Buy Now
The increasing importance of China-anchored, intra-Asia trade is fundamentally changing global trade patterns and the maritime industry, said Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, at the Sea Asia 2013.
Buy Now
Ping An is set to pay GBP260 million (US$398.45 million) to Commerzbank to buy over the iconic Lloyd's building in London, said industry sources.
Buy Now
Nat CATs in China resulted in direct economic losses of CNY23.1 billion (US$3.72 billion) for the first quarter of 2013, according to industry sources which cited the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Buy Now
The General Insurance Council (GIC), supported by the IRDA, has launched a two-month pan-India insurance awareness campaign across the country to spread awareness on the need for risk covers.
Buy Now
Ironshore International's Lloyd's Pembroke Syndicate has received regulatory approval from the Japanese Financial Services Authority to offer Representations & Warranties coverage through Lloyd's Japan.
Buy Now
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will speed up the process of punishing financial companies and their CEOs involved in wrongdoing, as the new FSS Governor targets to slash the time for pushing charges from two years to less than five months, said a local media.
Buy Now
Sun Life and Khazanah Nasional have completed their acquisition of CIMB Aviva following regulatory approvals in Malaysia and Canada, with each acquiring a 49% stake and CIMB Group retaining the remaining 2%.
Buy Now
AMMB Holdings is seeking a strategic foreign partner for its life unit AmLife Insurance, and will choose a partner with a global presence and Asian experience, said Group Managing Director Ashok Ramamurthy.
Buy Now
The 12 private insurers which were given licences by the government in September 2012 will begin operations in June this year, said Dr Maung Maung Thein, Deputy Minister for Finance and Revenue, in a report.
Buy Now
Manila-based Insurance Institute for Asia and the Pacific (IIAP) has launched a management programme aimed at supporting the industry's needs for more internationally competitive managers and highly skilled and well-rounded leaders.
Buy Now
Singapore has passed the Financial Holding Companies Bill which introduced a regulatory framework for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to regulate financial holdings companies (FHCs) and their financial groups.
Buy Now
Mr Prakash Schaffter, Managing Director, Janashakthi Insurance PLC, has been elected as President of the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL).
Buy Now
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has announced plans to allow life insurers to increase their investments in property overseas.
Buy Now
The National Catastrophe Insurance Fund in Thailand, which was set up following the disastrous floods in 2011, had already issued more than 743,000 policies to households, more than 59,000 to SMEs and more than 4,500 to industrial entrepreneurs.
Buy Now
Despite strong growth in Vietnam's non-life insurance sector, many insurers had reported losses for 2012. According to industry sources, total premium collected for the sector amounted to VND22.8 trillion (US$1.08 billion).
Buy Now