South Korea’s financial watchdog said Thursday it penalised the insurance unit of South Korea’s debt-stricken Kumho Asiana group for causing 243 million dollars in losses through risky investments. The Financial Supervisory Service said Kumho Life Insurance would be banned from starting operations in the non-insurance sector for three years. CEO Park Byung-Wook and former head Choi Byung-Gil were banned from taking an executive post in any financial institution for three years, it said, while Park was also barred from running for a second...  Lire la suite

Longer lifespans, falling fertility rates and growing ranks of elderly people in Asia can pose problems as serious as the impact of climate change, a leading expert warned Monday. Yves Guerard, secretary general of the International Actuarial Association, said at a pensions industry conference in Singapore that the ageing issue was a “big, immediate, urgent problem” for the world’s most populous region. “I will compare that with climate change. We prefer not to believe in that because it’s inconvenient,” he said,...  Lire la suite

South Korea’s biggest life insurer has applied to launch what would likely be the country’s largest ever initial public offering, the stock exchange said Thursday. Samsung Life Insurance will begin listing procedures once it gets approval from the Korea Exchange, which could take up to two months, a spokesman at the bourse told AFP. The share sale is expected to be worth between four and five trillion won (3.5-4.4 billion dollars), according to news reports. A day earlier, shareholders approved a 10 to one share-split plan to pave the...  Lire la suite

PCA Life Insurance Co. Ltd a life insurance unit of U.K.-based Prudential plc, has ended sales of new policies in Japan as of Jan. 15. The new business suspension is for all products lines including whole life medical insurance, whole life cancer insurance, new increasing term insurance, term insurance, endowment insurance and variable annuities. “The decision to suspend new business was made in careful consideration of the local business environment in Japan and other factors over the past year,” said Chad Tendler, Prudential’s...  Lire la suite

The Chinese regulatory authority CIRC has granted Allianz the license to convert Allianz Insurance Company Guangzhou Branch into a subsidiary. This decision marks a milestone for Allianz’ P&C presence in China as the registration of a subsidiary is the major precondition to extend business across provinces. Werner Zedelius, Board member of Allianz SE responsible for growth markets, said: “Allianz considers China to be one of its three core growth markets globally. This license is an important step for us. In very close cooperation...  Lire la suite