The Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RAM Rating Services, which will provide a bespoke rating service for licensed entities in the centre. RAM Rating Services, a Malaysian ratings agency, will work with Labuan IBFC Inc, the market development agency of the Labuan IBFC, to develop, promote and facilitate the…
Charles Taylor has expanded its adjusting business in Malaysia with a new property and casualty team based in Kuala Lumpur. The new team will be led by SG Bala Subramaniam who becomes managing director, property and casualty, Charles Taylor Adjusting, Malaysia. He will oversee business development, grow the current team of adjusters in Malaysia and service clients of existing projects…
The shock caused by the sudden arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for companies to carry out and take more seriously scenario planning and modelling, crisis management planning, business continuity plan development and testing on a regular basis, according to Annacel Natividad, chief finance officer and head of risk management, Pilmico Foods Corporation in the Philippines Speaking to…
Steve Tunstall is general secretary of the Pan-Asia Risk & Insurance Management Association (Parima) and director of Tunstall Associates, based in Singapore. He was one of the founding members of Parima, along with Franck Baron, Kelvin Wu and the team when it was launched at its first conference in Singapore back in April 2013. Mr Tunstall is a business risk management…
Indonesia’s non-life insurance market is well diversified and underpinned by solid capitalisation, according to AM Best, which has assigned a stable outlook to the sector. Best said this was despite a bleak macroeconomic picture and the social restriction measures that have been in place since April 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which will result in a slowdown…
Insurance-linked securities (ILS) capital shrunk from $93bn to $91bn in the 12 months to 30 June, according to Aon’s annual report on the sector, although cat bond issuance was up by $3.5bn to $9bn. Aon says Q4 2019 and Q1 2020 booked record levels of cat bonds, with issuances worth $2.2bn and $4bn, respectively. Higher levels of activity were recorded…
London market broker New Dawn Risk Group is to enter a new partnership with Singapore-based SpecialistRe, which it said will strengthen its reach in China, Japan and southeast Asia. Max Carter, CEO of New Dawn Risk, said it had been looking for opportunities in the region “for some time” and it will now offer treaty reinsurance broker expertise for specialty…
Southeast Asian economies such as Vietnam will gain from the expected de-risking of the global supply chain and creation of parallel chains as multinationals seek to reduce their dependence upon China, according to the latest Sigma report from Swiss Re. The Swiss reinsurer says the development of parallel supply chains to de-risk the global flow of intermediate goods and services is…
The economic fallout from Covid-19 will increase the risk of modern slavery seeping into supply chains, warned Verisk Maplecroft in the 2020 edition of its Modern Slavery Index. The index specifically flags a “surge” in modern slavery within Asian manufacturing hubs as the pandemic bites. Verisk Maplecroft said workers who have lost their jobs in the pandemic could turn to…
The introduction of new rules to allow South Korean insurers to use coinsurance to cover interest rate risk as well as pure underwriting risk will clearly help alleviate capital pressures on the sector that have been exacerbated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But credit ratings agencies will monitor how the new rules will be used to make sure…