Myanmar: Formal insurance licences granted to foreign insurers
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Jan 2020
The Financial Regulatory Department has awarded licences to five foreign insurers and six joint ventures to operate in the Myanmar market, in a major reform of the insurance sector.
UK’s Prudential, Japan’s Dai-ichi Life, Hong Kong’s AIA, US’s Chubb and Canada’s Manulife have been permitted to issue life insurance policies in Myanmar with their fully-owned subsidiaries, more than half a year after the five insurers were granted provisional licences, reported The Myanmar Times.
The approval marked Myanmar’s first licences to foreign fully-owned life insurers. The department also granted licences to three life and three non-life joint ventures between foreign and local firms.
The three life JVs are between Capital Life Insurance and Taiyo Life Insurance; Citizen Business Insurance and Thai Life Insurance; and Grand Guardian Life Insurance and Nippon Life Insurance.
The three non-life JVs are between AYA Myanmar General Insurance and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance; Grand Guardian General Insurance and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance; and IKBZ Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.
The insurance market in Myanmar had been monopolised for years by a state firm Myanma Insurance, but was opened up to local private operators in 2013, with 11 Myanmar licensed firms currently operating. A