Shanghai has a huge potential to emerge as a regional reinsurance center in Asia by attracting more players and markets like Lloyd's of London.

"Shanghai enjoys a fantastic opportunity to be the regional reinsurance center of Asia," Malcolm Steingold, chief executive officer of Aon Re Asia Pte in Asia Pacific said.

The city is gearing up to build up its reinsurance market amid its growing insurance sector, which has grown 30 percent in past years.

The city's reinsurance market is now trailing the development of its direct insurance market due to a lack of institutions, technology and talents, said Zhang Xing, deputy head of the Shanghai Bureau of the China Regulatory Commission. Reinsurance premiums accounted for 9.59 percent of the city's total premiums, he noted. The figure in the global market is around 20 percent.

It is expected that Shanghai can benefit with more expertise and talents with Lloyd's tapping the market. Lloyd's will start running its Chinese onshore reinsurance operation in Shanghai early next year, said Ian Faragher, managing director (designate) of Lloyd's Shanghai affiliate - Lloyd's Reinsurance Company (China) Ltd.

Shanghai now has three reinsurance companies and seven reinsurance companies' representative offices.  It is expected that China's reinsurance premiums may top 160 billion Yuan (US$20.2 billion) at the end of 2010.

Source:佚名