Taiwan: Insurers' exposure to Hong Kong grows
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Dec 2019
The exposure of Taiwan’s financial sector to Hong Kong increased to top NT$1tn ($3.79bn) as at the end of September, even as the territory was embroiled in political chaos, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
Data compiled by the FSC showed the exposure of Taiwan’s financial sector to Hong Kong rose to NT$1.018tn at the end of September, up from NT$994.59bn at the end of August.
As for Taiwan’s insurance sector, the FSC’s Insurance Bureau said that insurers had NT$212.1bn in exposure to Hong Kong at the end of September, up NT$2.9bn from the end of August. The bureau said the exposure accounted for only 0.81% of the insurance industry’s total disposable capital.
Street protests broke out in June against a controversial extradition bill, which would have allowed the Hong Kong government to send criminals to mainland China for prosecution. Even though the extradition bill was withdrawn, the protests intensified.
The commission said that so far, operations of Taiwanese institutions remained normal with healthy cash flows, and they have been requested to report to local financial authorities from time to time as the FSC monitors the situation in Hong Kong. A