United Risk has completed the acquisition of Sydney based Pinnacle Underwriting and thus expanding and strengthening its operations in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions in major lines of business.
These are the highlights for all events and updates across the industry this week.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the country's insurance regulator, has issued a consultation paper proposing measures to promote shariah-compliant intermediaries in the capital market.
China's reduction in capital charges for equity investments by insurers is likely to drive them to increase their equity holdings, Fitch Ratings said. However, equity investments expose insurers' earnings to the swings in the stock market, which could put pressure on some insurers' capital positions.
The Taiwan dollar's sharp rally against the US dollar in the first week of May has heightened foreign exchange risk exposure for Taiwanese life insurers who have been allocating a large portion of their invested assets in foreign investments, mainly USD-denominated fixed income securities.
Investment solutions company Amundi has appointed Mr Jian Xiong as insurance specialist for Asia. In his new role, he will strengthen the development of investing offerings and bespoke solutions for insurance clients across Asia.
Income Insurance, a composite insurer in Singapore, has selected JP Morgan as the custodian bank for its assets.
China's insurance sector has made a significant move into gold investments. Recently, China Life became the first domestic insurer to complete a gold transaction on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, signaling the official rollout of insurers' gold investment strategies.
These are the updates on insurance regulation across China this week.
Global gold prices have been soaring in recent years, repeatedly hitting record highs. Meanwhile, Chinese insurers have been struggling with a "shortage of investable assets." The downturn in real estate prices and local government debt restructuring has significantly reduced their allocation to alternative assets, leaving them with limited options in bonds and equities. This lack of investment channels has constrained returns on insurance capital.