12 October 2016 Insurance

Fierce competition but also great opportunity in Asia

In yesterday’s newsletter we published the results of a survey of EAIC delegates conducted ahead of the conference. Here, Micky Lee, principal officer of Qatar Re’s Singapore branch, answers those same questions in more detail.

Why do you attend the EAIC conference?

The biennale conference offers a welcome opportunity to meet up with clients and business partners alike. It allows us to foster existing relationships and build new ones as well as to learn about what is happening in the market. Now that we have just been granted the branch licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, we will deepen and broaden these relationships as well as explore new business opportunities.

Our objective is to become a leading reinsurance company in Singapore focused on bringing genuine leadership decision-makers close to the Asian markets. The opening of our Singapore branch affirms Qatar Re’s commitment to these markets and will allow us to have our fingers on the pulse of the dynamic Asian insurance and reinsurance environment. We are here to stay, to listen to our clients and to work with them to deliver tailored solutions that are of mutual benefit.

What is your biggest challenge/concern at the moment?

Currently there are a number of issues we are focusing on: capacity is abundant and the frequently forecast stabilisation of rates, terms and conditions is still elusive. The reinsurance trading conditions in Asia remain tough. But we believe that these challenges are outweighed by the many opportunities the region offers. Asia is the world’s most attractive growth market.
China alone contributes about one third to global economic growth and its insurance market is set to expand further on the back of strong government support.

Therefore, no aspiring global reinsurer can ignore the region and its potential. But there is also a qualitative dimension: Asia is an exceptionally dynamic and innovative marketplace, with new companies and business models mushrooming at great pace. At Qatar Re, we consider this a particular opportunity given our global track record of supporting insurance entrepreneurs.

What will be the main talking points at this year’s EAIC?

Of course, discussions will be dominated by the softness of markets and the fierce level of competition in reinsurance markets. In addition, the trend towards protectionism in the cross-border trade of reinsurance services will be an important discussion topic. This is an increasing concern for both global reinsurers and local cedants.

Which lines of business do you see the fastest growth in?

By far, the single line of business that showed the fastest growth in Asia would be agriculture. In the past years, we saw the explosive growth of agriculture in China and we are seeing this same explosive growth in India this year. A number of other Asian markets are also actively launching their own agriculture schemes and initiatives. The growth of agriculture in Asia is all or mostly state-funded or assisted programmes. We at Qatar Re are active in this space and are actively engaged with our clients in Asia.

The other area of growth we are excited about is what we term project-based reinsurance, which are single one-off transactions tailored to suit the specific requirements of clients. The Asia market environment is very dynamic and innovative, as well as diverse, and in this exciting and challenging market environment, there are great opportunities to have that conversation with our clients on how we can work together for mutual benefits.

Micky Lee is principal officer of Qatar Re’s Singapore branch. He can be contacted at: mlee@qregroup.com

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