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  • Allianz Partners Hong Kong Fintech Expansion

    Allianz Partners Hong Kong Fintech Expansion

    The investment will be used to finance WeLab’s further expansion and, in particular, enable the ongoing development of its technological platform.

    Allianz X, the digital investment unit of Allianz, has joined the Series C funding round for WeLab, with a $75 million investment, it announced in a statement this week.

    The investment aims to enable business expansion and tech platform development, as WeLab has close to 50 million private and business clients in Hong Kong and China, which are key growth markets for Allianz.

    The German insurance and asset management firm will cooperate with the unicorn on insurance and investment products, including digital wealth management solutions in Hong Kong. An expansion of the partnership is planned for the Greater Bay Area, and to Indonesia and Southeast Asia at a later stage, the announcement said.

    Asia is home to some of the most dynamic wealth management and banking markets of the world. Hong Kong, in particular, is a significant market for us, Desmond Ng, Allianz Global Investors head of Asia Pacific, said in the statement.

    Allianz X has already made several other investments in the region, including telemedicine company Halodoc, digital real estate brokerage 99.co, ride-hailing and lifestyle services platform GoJek, and BIMA, which provides digital insurance in emerging and developing markets.

    Established in 2013, WeLab provides digital banking services and loans for private customers, a digital lending platform to connect lenders and borrowers, as well as a number of technology-driven services. It has close to 50 million retail customers and 600 corporate customers in China, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

    In July 2020, WeLab Bank became the third of eight licensed virtual banks to launch in Hong Kong

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  • Chubb Names Australia and New Zealand President

    Chubb Names Australia and New Zealand President

    Zurich-headquartered insurer Chubb has appointed a new president for Australia and New Zealand.

    Chubb names Peter Kelaher country president for Australia and New Zealand, according to a statement, succeeding Jarrod Hill who is leaving the firm. Kelaher reports to Paul McNamee, senior vice president of Chubb Group and APAC regional president.

    Kelaher has 20 years of insurance experience and he joined Chubb in 2008 as a financial lines underwriter before being promoted to product manager for directors and officers, and P&C business lead for Australia and New Zealand in 2016.

    Chub has had a presence in Australia and New Zealand for over a century with seven branches and more than 800 staff.

  • Former Lloyd’s APAC CEO Joins Delta Insurance

    Former Lloyd’s APAC CEO Joins Delta Insurance

    The specialty underwriting agency has appointed a new chief operating officer to support its burgeoning growth in Asia Pacific.

    Delta Insurance has expanded its management team, appointing current advisory board member Kent Chaplin as COO, the firm announced in a statement on Tuesday.

    Chaplin is no stranger to the industry and the region – he was formerly the CEO and head of Asia Pacific for Lloyd’s, and worked for the insurer in Singapore from 2011 to 2018. In 2019, Chaplin joined U.S.-headquartered company DXC Technology as its global head of reinsurance and specialty sales in Singapore.

    He appointed to Delta Group’s advisory board in August 2019, where he provided strategic planning, business development and governance support.

    Delta Insurance, which started operations in 2017 in New Zealand, is innovation and technology-driven insurtech headquartered in Singapore. It specializes in cyber, technology and professional risk protection, with Lloyd’s underwriting backing.

    Amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the firm saw 50 percent growth in the Asia Pacific region.

    That growth has encouraged us to significantly broaden our footprint in Asia-Pacific and beyond – becoming more global in our outlook, Ian Pollard, group managing director, said in the statement.

  • Chubb Hires APAC Property Head From AIG

    Chubb Hires APAC Property Head From AIG

    Chubb, the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer has announced new appointments for its Asia Pacific property and casualty team.

    Commercial property specialist Alex Todd has joined Chubb as its head of property, a role in which he will be responsible for the growth and performance of its commercial property portfolio in Asia, the company announced on Friday.

    Todd brings 18 years of international experience and joins from AIG, where he led a team of 50 and was accountable for a variety of first-party programs and specialty lines across Canada. Based in Chubb’s Singapore regional office, he will report to Grant Cairns, regional head of property and casualty for Asia Pacific.

    The company also appointed Jamie Park, previously Chubb’s chief underwriting officer as well as head of portfolio management, casualty, and financial lines and environmental liability in Korea, as its head of financial lines, based in Singapore.

    In her new role, Park will be responsible for the underwriting, product development, new business opportunities, as well as driving the overall profitability of Chubb’s Financial Lines portfolio in Asia.

    The appointment of the pair supports the continued drive and strategic direction of its growing property portfolio, and position as the market leader in financial lines across Asia, Chubb said in a statement.

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  • AXA Names Managing Director for Life Insurance

    AXA Names Managing Director for Life Insurance

    AXA Insurance names a new managing director to lead its life strategic business unit, succeeding incumbent Sean Goh. Li Choo Kwek-Perroy joins as a managing director for AXA Insurance’s life strategic business unit, according to a statement, while Goh will leave the firm to pursue other opportunities. In her new role, Kwek-Perroy reports to Jean Drouffe, chief executive at AXA Insurance.

    Kwek-Perroy has two decades of insurance experience and rejoins AXA where she first worked in 2000 before holding various senior positions in Paris, Brussels, Hong Kong, and Singapore. She was trained as an actuary and held a diverse mix of roles in the industry across product, marketing, digital and distribution transformation, risk management, and finance. She was most recently a chief transformation officer and chief customer officer with rival Manulife.

    I am delighted to welcome Kwek-Perroy back to the AXA Singapore Executive Committee, said Drouff. Her strong technical background, extensive industry experience, and proven leadership capabilities make her the ideal choice to drive our life business forward. I am confident that she will bring valuable new perspectives and innovative and customer-focused insights to the business.

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  • ZA Tech Partners to Launch Insurtech in Indonesia

    ZA Tech Partners to Launch Insurtech in Indonesia

    Chinese firm ZA Tech Global is partnering Indonesian payments giant Ovo to offer Indonesian insurance companies access to its proprietary insurtech capabilities and applications.

    BCP, the holding company of Indonesia’s leading e-wallet Ovo, and ZA Tech Global, a technology venture for overseas markets of ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance, have announced a strategic joint venture to create an insurtech platform in Indonesia, towards fast-tracking digitalization of Indonesia’s insurance industry and improving financial inclusion.

    The joint venture will help Indonesian insurance companies rapidly digitize their products and offer fractionalized digital insurance products to the masses, in turn driving and improving financial inclusion in Indonesia’s vastly underserved market, the announcement said.

    The announcment noted that only 1.7 percent of Indonesia’s population of 265 million are currently covered by private insurance. It is also the fastest-growing market in Southeast Asia, with economic growth averaging over 5 percent in the past three years.

    The low awareness of the benefits and role of insurance as a tool for protection, savings and wealth creation in Indonesia is something we seek to address. The current pandemic has further highlighted the need for insurance to safeguard people’s health and welfare,» Bill Song, CEO of ZA Tech, said.

    ZA Tech Global previously inked micro-insurance partnerships with Grab and NTUC Income in Singapore, and regionally with AIA.

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  • StanChart Boosts Healthcare Liquidity

    StanChart Boosts Healthcare Liquidity

    Standard Chartered on Monday said it will set aside $1 billion to finance companies that are providing goods and services to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak.

    The lender plans to offer financing at preferential rates to firms that are manufacturers and distributors in the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare providers, as well as manufacturers of items such as ventilators, face masks, protective equipment, and sanitizers.

    Clearly there’s a cost for companies to switch into these hugely in-demand items, so it’s an area where we can help them get up and running more quickly. At the same time, we want to make sure that existing manufacturers and service providers get the support they need, said Simon Cooper, CEO of StanChart’s corporate and institutional banking division in a media statement.

    Financing will come in the form of loans, import finance, export finance, or working capital facilities to help these firms tool up and get their products to market. The bank, which derives about two-thirds of its total operating income from Asia, is also trying to identify companies that may switch into, or add, anti-virus products to their output but have not indicated that they will do so.

    Our industry teams are looking across our client base and, given our understanding of clients’ current manufacturing processes, we’re assessing which companies might want to consider adding these items to their production line, Cooper added.

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  • AXA Consortium Nets Student Housing Portfolio

    AXA Consortium Nets Student Housing Portfolio

    The acquisition aims to capitalize on the high demand for student housing in Australia, the third most popular country for international students.

    A joint venture comprising AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, Allianz and APG have agreed to acquire Urbanest, a portfolio of student accommodation properties in four major Australian cities, AXA IM – Real Assets announced in a press release on Wednesday.

    The 14 properties, located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, have 6,805 beds, and will be operated by student accommodation manager Scape, which also manages the consortium’s Atira portfolio comprising 3,510 beds, which was acquired in September.

    «The sector has favorable demand drivers and growing institutional appeal, assets are tightly held and the barriers to entry are relatively high, particularly in Sydney, which makes this opportunity even more appealing,» Kumar Kalyanakumar, Head of Australia at AXA IM – Real Assets, said about the deal.

  • Singapore and Thailand Join Hands In Insurance Supervision

    Singapore and Thailand Join Hands In Insurance Supervision

    The authorities in both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation in insurance supervision. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), Thailand, on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation in insurance supervision.

    This MoU is an important step which will provide OIC and MAS with a committed approach to working more closely. The MoU will advance a framework for cooperation, exchange of information and assistance in insurance supervision between two authorities as well as facilitating mutual development of the insurance sector in both jurisdictions,» said Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn, Secretary-General of the OIC, Thailand in a media statement.

    The MOU on insurance supervision was signed by Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn, Secretary-General, OIC and Daniel Wang, Executive Director (Insurance Department), MAS, in Bangkok at the sidelines of the annual Thailand Insurance Expo.

    This MOU affirms the strong relationship between MAS and OIC, as well as our mutual interest to enhance insurance supervision and collaboration in both our jurisdictions. It further deepens partnerships between insurance regulators in ASEAN,» said Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director (Financial Supervision), MAS in the media statement.

    The Office of Insurance Commission manages the supervision of insurance companies, brokers and agents and promotes the development of business conducts of insurance companies. OIC also builds confidence and accessibilities, strengthens the capacity and promotes the infrastructure of the insurance system.

  • Sun Life Appoints Asia President

    Sun Life Appoints Asia President

    Sun Life Asia appoints a new president with incumbent Claude Accum to step down and retire on December 31 this year.

    Léo Grépin will become the president of Sun Life Asia in 2020 which currently encompasses life, health and wealth management businesses in seven regional markets: the Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India.

    Grépin was most recently the firm’s ASEAN president since April 2019, overseeing Sun Life’s businesses in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, alongside regional distribution and marketing. Prior to that, he was a senior vice-president for Sun Life Canada, responsible for the insurance and wealth management product development and distribution to individuals.

    Previously, he had 20 years of experience including 15 with McKinsey, where he was a senior partner.

    Under Claude’s leadership, Sun Life Asia has gained market share and enhanced the client experience,» said Dean Connor, president and CEO of Sun Life, paying respects to Accum’s 36-year stint with the firm. «On behalf of the executive team and board of directors, I thank Claude for everything he’s accomplished over his career at Sun Life, and wish him all the best in his retirement.

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  • Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance sets up Global Digital Hubs in Singapore &Tokyo

    Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance sets up Global Digital Hubs in Singapore &Tokyo

    Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. (President: Noriyuki Hara, “MSI”), a member of MS&AD Insurance Group, sets up two Global Digital Hubs (“GDH”) in Singapore and Tokyo as bases to support global digitalization.

    In April 2018, MSI established a Digital Strategy Department to promote digitalization focused on enhancing customer experience and business productivity. In order to further accelerate its digital activities, MSI launched the Singapore GDH in February this year to support the ASEAN markets, and will launch a GDH in Tokyo to promote the adoption of digital technology by employees and agents.

    Through the two GDHs and other advanced initiatives, MSI will continue its commitment to promote digitalization and help address societal challenges.

    GDH Singapore will contribute to the development of digital initiatives in the ASEAN region, leveraging on MSI’s broad network in all ten ASEAN member countries. It will support the Asia regional office in developing digital strategies to drive continued growth of the business in this region.

    GDH Singapore aims to enhance customer experience in the ASEAN markets to cater to the rapid rise of digitalization. It will help facilitate the development of innovative insurance products and services through collaboration with business partners and open innovation with startups.

    GDH Tokyo will be the innovation epicenter of MSI to find new ways of adding value to our
    clients through the use of digital technology and big data. By way of collaborating with startups,
    MSI aims to develop innovative products and services that will help address social issues and
    contribute to society as per the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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  • Insurance industry growth surges 17% in Q1

    Insurance industry growth surges 17% in Q1

    Việt Nam’s insurance industry maintained positive growth in the first quarter of this year, with total premiums surging by 17 per cent year-on-year, according to reports from the General Statistics Office.

    Life insurance surged by 23 per cent, while non-life insurance increased by 9 per cent.

    According to the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA), the insurance industry is targeting a growth rate of 20 per cent this year.

    Experts remain upbeat about the industry’s health in the coming years, forecasting that it will maintain an annual growth rate of 10-20 per cent. Many banks that co-operate with insurers to provide bancassurance products even expect an annual growth rate of up to 30-40 per cent.

    The fast-growing domestic insurance market should thrive thanks to rising living standards and a high gross domestic product (GDP) growth of more than 6 per cent annually over the next three years, experts said.

    The growth potential is great as the country has one of the world’s lowest life insurance penetration levels at less than 1 per cent of GDP. The average insurance premium in Việt Nam stands at US$30, much lower than the global average of $595 and Southeast Asia’s average of $74.

    To maintain high growth, Deputy Finance Minister Huỳnh Quang Hải said the Insurance Association of Vietnam (IAV), in conjunction with other relevant agencies, must raise awareness about insurance.

    IAV also needs to promote closer co-operation among insurers so that businesses can join hands to build and fine-tune the industry’s databases, which will improve the quality of their services, thereby raising their financial capability and competitiveness, Hải said.

    Hải also told insurers to work with IAV and the Ministry of Finance to develop a new insurance business law to contribute to the development of the local insurance market.

    The ISA reported that the country has 64 insurance companies, including 30 non-life insurers, 18 life insurers, two reinsurance companies and 14 insurance brokerage companies.

    There are up to 850 non-life insurance products and 450 life insurance products sold on the Vietnamese market.

    Read more at https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/518204/insurance-industry-growth-surges-17-in-q1.html#lVqMUB0GwB3zyHU6.99

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  • MSIG Insurance celebrates 10 years of growth in Vietnam

    MSIG Insurance celebrates 10 years of growth in Vietnam

    General insurer MSIG Vietnam celebrated its 10th anniversary recently at the Sheraton Hanoi Hotel and Hotel Nikko Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) on 11th and 12th March 2019 respectively. More than 500 partners, customers and staff attended the celebrations which mark the success of MSIG Vietnam that could only have been achieved with the strong support of its partners and customers over the years.

    It was an honour to also have guests-of-honour, Mr. Phung Ngoc Khanh, Director General of Insurance Supervisory and Authority, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Kunio Umeda, Ambassador of Japan in Vietnam, and Mr. Junichi Kawaue, Consulate General of Japan, grace the occasions.

    Celebrating the occasion with kagami-biraki or traditional Japanese sake barrel-breaking ceremony – an auspicious ceremony that represents good harmony and fortune. From L to R: Mr. Alan J. Wilson, CEO, MSIG Asia; Mr. Hideyuki Tanaka, Chairman, MSIG Asia; Mr. Yujiro Sobajima, General Director, MSIG Insurance (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.; Mr. Noriyuki Hara, President and CEO, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.; Mr. Kunio Umeda, Ambassador of Japan in Vietnam; Mr. Phung Ngoc Khanh, Director General of Insurance Supervisory and Authority, Ministry of Finance.

    MSIG has been doing business in Vietnam for over 25 years, beginning with a representative office of the Tokyo-based Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in Hanoi in 1994. In 2009, a subsidiary office was established and that marked the beginning of MSIG Insurance (Vietnam). The company started out by supporting Japanese corporate clients, and within 10 years, laid the foundation to also expand its business to offer insurance solutions to non-Japanese clients and develop its bancassurance channels.

    “Since its establishment, MSIG Insurance (Vietnam) has been contributing to the development of the Vietnamese economy by supporting the expansion of Japanese corporate businesses through 2

    general insurance solutions. Today, we also support Vietnamese corporate businesses and the portfolio of non-Japanese clients have increased to 20%”, said Mr. Noriyuki Hara, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.

    Mr. Noriyuki Hara, President and CEO, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.

    “Among our global activities, our main focus is on Asia. We are the largest non-life insurance company in the region to operate in all 10 ASEAN countries. Among these countries, Vietnam is one of the most noteworthy. We will continue to push ourselves to achieve more and provide the highest level of service quality to our clients to contribute to the further development of Vietnam. We truly appreciate the continuous guidance and encouragement from all our clients and partners”, Mr. Hara continued.

    During the celebrations, the Minister of Finance also presented MSIG Vietnam with a “Certificate of Merit” to recognise the company’s efforts in contributing to the development of Vietnam’s insurance industry from 2009 to 2018. The recognition is testimony of the strong relations that MSIG has in the country and encourages its staff to continue to go above and beyond to serve the needs of their customers in Vietnam.

  • DBS Poaches Wealth Planning Head from Bank of Singapore

    DBS Poaches Wealth Planning Head from Bank of Singapore

    His key responsibilities include driving the expansion of the bank’s wealth planning, family office and insurance offerings, and providing holistic solutions and advisory for high net worth families.

    DBS Bank on Friday has appointed Lee Woon Shiu as Head of Wealth Planning, Family Office and Insurance Solutions at its private bank, it said in a press release on Friday.

    Lee is an industry veteran with more than 20 years’ of experience in advising numerous ultra-high net worth families in Asia-Pacific on wealth planning as well as the establishment and implementation of family governance and philanthropy strategies. He joins DBS from Bank of Singapore, the private banking arm of OCBC Bank, where he has worked since 2004. Most recently, he held the position of Head of Wealth Planning, Trust and Insurance.

    «With Asia at the cusp of a significant intergenerational wealth transfer, we are committed to being our clients’ partner of choice as we help to grow, manage and protect their family’s assets and legacy over time,» Sim S. Lim, Group Head of Consumer Banking & Wealth Management, DBS Bank, said.

    Outside the office, Lee is an adjunct professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Wealth Management Institute (WMI), and has been appointed Expert Panel Member of WMI to provide guidance to the institute and its faculty in developing new IBF standards and curriculum for wealth planning. He is also an Advocate & Solicitor of Singapore, a Solicitor of England & Wales and an accredited Trust & Estate Practitioner under the International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

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  • Henley & Partners Opens Australia Office

    Henley & Partners Opens Australia Office

    New office caters to burgeoning international demand for Australia’s investor migration programs, as well as interest from within Australia for alternative residence and citizenship options abroad. Global firm in residence and citizenship planning Henley & Partners has announced its expansion into Australia and has made several key personnel hires, the firm said in a media release.

    The office is located in Melbourne, and will be led by director Tony Le Nevez.

    «Australia is the number one resettlement destination for high-net-worth individuals. With our global presence and expertise in assisting these clients acquire alternative residence or citizenship, it makes perfect sense for us to open an office in Australia,» Dominic Volek, managing partner and head of Southeast Asia, said.

    Strong Regional Growth

    This has been a period of strong growth in the region for the firm, which recorded 48 percent year-on-year growth in Southeast Asia. It opened a Thailand office in 2018 to cater to the burgeoning demand for residence and citizenship planning services among HNWIs there.

    «We expect the interest and demand that we are seeing in Southeast Asia to continue with eight of the top 10 fastest growing wealth populations forecast to be in Asia over the next five years,» Volek said.

    Key Appointments

    • Tony Le Nevez, Director, Henley & Partners Australia

    Le Nevez has over 35 years’ experience in the migration services industry. He previously worked for the Australian Department of Immigration in Canberra, and at for the Australian foreign service in Bangkok, Athens and Vienna, where he was a senior policy advisor and First Secretary. He joined the private sector in 2006 and is a member of the Investment Migration Council.

    • Jacky Poh, Deputy Head, Henley & Partners Singapore

    A wealth management professional for over 10 years, Poh has worked closely with HNWIs to execute prudent investment strategies inclusive of discretionary portfolios. Poh works closely with the managing partner to ensure the smooth operations and resource management of the Singapore office. He is also focused on establishing and maintaining relationships with key clients and stakeholders to drive business growth, with an emphasis on progressive Southeast Asian markets.

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