Taiwan moves closer to asset management hub in Asia-Pacific
Taipei, July 29 (CNA) Taiwan issued licenses Wednesday to 14 insurance companies operating here to run offshore insurance units (OIUs), and Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗) said that the license issuance will help Taiwan move closer to transforming itself into an asset management hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
Tseng said that the issuance of the OIU licenses are a follow-up to Taiwan’s efforts to set its sights on the growing asset management business in the region after the country allowed securities companies to conduct offshore securities business last year.
The 14 insurers that secured the OIU licenses are 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), according to the FSC.
Tseng cited a recent estimate by foreign banks as saying that the value of assets held by ethnic Chinese in overseas markets surpasses US$200 billion, which provides insurers in the region with plenty of business opportunities.
Tseng took Hong Kong as an example, saying that the territory has enjoyed a booming OIU business, as offshore clients of Hong Kong insurers accounted for more than 25 percent of the total premium revenue in the past year.
He said that the OIU revenue in Hong Kong has been growing more than 50 percent a year, so that Taiwan’s insurance sector should seize the opportunity in the region. The newly issued OIU licenses are expected to help them in this regard.
The FSC head said that the 14 Taiwanese insurance companies should gear up to introduce attractive insurance products in asset management to tap the regional market.
The FSC issued 17 licenses to local securities companies to set up offshore securities units (OSUs) last year. Tseng said that the FSC expects that these companies will post NT$500 million (US$15.87 million) in profit from their OSUs this year.
As for the 62 offshore banking units (OBUs) of Taiwanese banks, Tseng said that the OBUs 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.
As of the end of 2014, total assets of these OBUs topped NT$5 trillion, according to the FSC.
