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Finance: Foreign insurers unfazed by market obstacles

By Wang Lan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-03 09:58

Foreign insurers in China are weighing massive market potential against challenges like regulatory hurdles and high staff turnover, according to a new survey.

These challenges are spurring insurers to consolidate alliances with local partners, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey said.

Local commercial banks can now operate through subsidiaries in the insurance sector, making tie-ups more crucial for foreign insurers.

But the effect of this regulatory change on foreign insurers' product sales via commercial banks - a large proportion of their total sales - remains to be seen.

The sluggish stock market has had a negative impact on investment-linked product sales as well as the investment income of insurers, the survey found.

"The stock market slump since its peak last October wiped off a sizeable amount in investment returns and undermined insurers' solvency, squeezing capital for expansion and product innovation," Tom Ling, a partner at PwC financial services, said.

The total number of foreign insurers in China is expected to reach 70, with overall market share to expand from 6 to 10 percent by 2011, the survey said.

Staff retention is also weighing on executives' minds, with 68 percent of respondents expecting turnover of 10 to 24 percent this year.

Recruitment and training are key concerns for most executives surveyed.

Most respondents identified life insurance products as the priority for development in the next three years.

In the property and casualty sector, foreign players will continue to focus on the cargo and transport market.

But respondents were agreed: China's burgeoning middle classes will continue to drive the industry as attitudes change toward the value of insurance products.

Executives from 28 foreign insurers were interviewed for the survey.

Connie Wong, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor's, was upbeat on the sector's development.

"We have a positive outlook on China's insurance industry, reflecting our expectation that the financial profiles and management capability of the key players will continue to improve and regulatory initiatives will remain stringent over the medium term," Wong said.