FSC issues 14 insurers licenses for offshore units
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday issued licenses to 14 insurance companies to run offshore units, while commission Chairman William Tseng (曾銘宗) said the licenses would help the nation move closer to transforming into an asset management hub.
Tseng said the licenses are a follow-up to efforts to benefit from increased asset-management business after the nation allowed securities companies to conduct offshore business last year.
Among the insurers that secured the licenses were 12 life insurers and two general insurers, including Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽), Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽), Nanshan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽), Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽) and Fubon Insurance Co (富邦產險), the commission said.
Tseng cited an estimate by foreign banks as saying that the value of assets held by ethnic Chinese in overseas markets surpasses US$200 billion, indicating that insurers in the region have plenty of business opportunities.
Tseng said Hong Kong has enjoyed booming business through its offshore operations, with clients of Hong Kong insurers accounting for more than 25 percent of the total premium revenue over the past year.
He said that revenue from offshore operations in Hong Kong has been growing by more than 50 percent per year, indicating that Taiwan’s insurance sector should have a chance to gain business in the region.
Tseng said that the 14 companies should introduce attractive insurance products in asset management to tap the regional market.
The commission issued 17 licenses to local securities companies to set up offshore securities units last year.
Tseng said that the commission expects those security companies to post NT$500 million (US$15.86 million) in profit from their offshore operations this year.
The 62 offshore banking units of Taiwanese banks posted more than NT$85.3 billion in profit last year, up 53 percent from a year earlier, to become one of the growth engines for the local banking sector, Tseng said.
As of the end of last year, total assets of the offshore banking units topped NT$5 trillion, the commission said.
