Russia seeks Chinese firms to replace Western reinsurers
Source: Asia Insurance Review | May 2015
Representatives from the Chinese and Russian governments and insurance agencies met to discuss the possibility of Chinese companies reinsuring Russia’s major infrastructure projects.
It is hoped that the Chinese firms can replace Western firms that have pulled back after Russia’s sovereign credit rating was downgraded to junk earlier this year by S&P and Moody’s.
The two parties agreed to create a “joint reinsurance capacity” among Russian and Chinese insurance companies, according to The Moscow Times citing the Russian-language news website, Gazeta.ru.
The agreements could concern insurance and reinsurance covers for multibillion-dollar projects like Russia’s Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China and Turkish Stream pipeline to Europe, the report said.
Western companies were, until recently, the main insurers for large Russian infrastructure projects. Foreign companies had previously reinsured between 80% and 90% of major Russian ventures, the report said.