Hong Kong is losing insurance business to Singapore, but the local authorities are implementing an action plan to strengthen its position as Asia’s insurance hub.
Several insurance and reinsurance companies, including Swiss Re, have left or downsized their Hong Kong offices and moved to Singapore. In a bid to retain insurers, Hong Kong is establishing an independent insurance authority to modernise the industry's regulatory framework, the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers said. The government will also build a centralised claims database to detect and prevent fraud. But it remains unclear whether these measures can be sustained in the face of rising property prices and soaring rents.