Insurers, superannuation funds and banks in Australia will now need to meet higher standards of operational risk management as new requirements for operational risk management laid down by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have come into force.
As professional investors in Hong Kong seek flexible investment options, with downside protection features to support legacy planning, the insurers are providing policyholders an opportunity to address their goals whilst also capitalising on potential upside growth from tracking the performance of leading global indices.
China's life insurance market showed further signs of recovery in May, with premium growth accelerating on a year-on-year basis, according to operational data released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA). The non-life segment remained stable, while analysts expect that a potential decline in the benchmark pricing rate in the third quarter may help ease interest margin pressure across the industry.
Recently, Investment & Pensions Europe (IPE) released its 2025 list of the world's 500 top asset managers. Chinese institutions made notable gains in this year's ranking, with 57 firms making the list and 13 insurance asset managers among them.
These are the highlights for events and updates across the insurance industry this week.
Japanese non-life insurance groups are expected to maintain favourable underwriting results both in Japan and overseas markets in the financial year ending March 2026, while the growth in earnings is likely to slow as sales of strategic shareholdings decline according to a non-rating action commentary by Fitch Ratings.
The insurance market in Uganda posted gross premiums of UGX1.76tn ($490m) in 2024, 10% higher than the UGX1.60tn chalked up in 2023, according to data from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA).
Euro Arab Insurance Group is expected to continue to expand its business, at 5%-10% per year over 2025-2027, with projected combined ratios of 97%-99% annually, S&P Global Ratings (S&P) said.
The Orient insurance group's prudent approach to risk selection and focus on profitability over top-line growth will sustain its very strong technical performance over the medium-term as the group navigates challenging market conditions, including high competition, according to AM Best.
A recent industry survey conducted by the Insurance Asset Management Association of China (IAMAC) reveals that 63% of participating institutions plan to increase their allocation to Hong Kong equities in 2025, with most opting to do so via the Stock Connect scheme.