Latest Asia Headlines
All the headlines from our Asia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
ING Puts $775 Million Thailand Bank Stake up for Sale – Sources
Mar 23 2012 // ING Groep NV has put its roughly $775 million stake in Thailand’s TMB Bank Pcl on the block as the bailed-out Dutch financial services group pushes ahead with Asian divestments, sources familiar with the matter told...
Celent Survey Forecasts Insurers to Spend $140.6 Billion on Technology in 2012
Mar 21 2012 // Global information technology spending by insurance companies is expected to reach $140.6 billion in 2012, an increase of 6.3 percent over 2011, according to a new report from Celent, part of the Oliver Wyman (MMC) group....
AIG, Atradius Execs Join Micro-insurance Investor LeapFrog for Africa, Asia
Mar 15 2012 // LeapFrog Investments, an investment fund focused on insurance and financial services companies, announced two senior appointments as it expands its investment portfolio in Asia and Africa. David Steel, previously Managing...
Willis Chief on Non-Traditional Risks Facing Airlines; Asia-Pacific Growth
Mar 8 2012 // Joe Plumeri, Willis Group Holdings Chairman and CEO, told attendees at the Willis Asia Pacific Aviation Insurance Conference in Hong Kong that air travel in Asia Pacific is set to significantly surpass that of North...
AIG to Sell $6 Billion Worth of AIA shares to Repay U.S. Bail-out
Mar 5 2012 // American International Group is selling part of its stake in AIA Group to raise about $6 billion to help the U.S. insurer repay a huge federal government bail-out. AIG is looking to place some 1.7 billion AIA shares in a...
Asia Insurer AIA Boosted by Surge in New Business
Feb 24 2012 // AIA Group Ltd, Asia’s No.3 insurer, reported a 40 percent rise in value of new business for its fiscal full year and growth in Thailand despite last year’s devastating floods, surprising analysts and sending...
Swiss Re Reports $2.6 Billion 2011 Net Income Despite Nat Cats
Feb 23 2012 // Swiss Re reported net income of $2.6 billion for the full-year 2011, despite what it described as “an exceptional natural catastrophe burden” – a strong performance compared to the $863 million reported for...
ING to Sell 3 Asia Joint Ventures Separately from Other Assets
Feb 23 2012 // ING Groep NV is planning to sell its three Asian insurance joint ventures separately from its other Asia assets so that the overall sale is not held up by negotiations with partners, two sources with direct knowledge of...
South Korea’s KB Financial Eyes ING Insurance
Feb 22 2012 // South Korea’s KB Financial Group is interested in buying ING Groep NV’s South Korean insurance operations, chairman Euh Yoon-dae said. The parent of the country’s top mortgage lender which has an existing...
A.M. Best to Open Branch in Dubai for Middle East, Africa, Asia
Feb 21 2012 // Rating agency A.M. Best’s London office said it has obtained the necessary approvals to establish a branch operation in the Dubai International Financial Center in Dubai, UAE. The new office will serve Middle...
Prudential Picks Merrill for Advisor on ING Asia Bid
Feb 13 2012 // Prudential Financial Inc , the No.2 U.S. life insurer, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to advise on its possible bid for ING Groep NV’s Asian insurance operations, South Korean media reported, in what is...
ING to Split Investment Unit from Insurance Sale
Feb 9 2012 // ING has decided to split the sale of its Asian insurance business by auctioning its investment management business separately, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. ING has hired Credit Suisse as the...
People
Feb 6 2012 // Marsh & McLennan Companies has appointed AIG executive Julio Portalatin as CEO of Mercer, MMC’s human resource consulting unit. Portalatin succeeds M. Michele Burns who left the firm last October. Portalatin...
Korea Life Considers Bid for ING’s Asia Insurance Business
Feb 2 2012 // Korea Life Insurance Co. Ltd said on Thursday that it is reviewing the feasibility of bidding for ING Groep NV’s Asia-Pacific insurance operations. The potential $6 billion deal is also expected to attract the...
Chartis Realigns Global Business Units Amid Departure of Key Executive
Jan 18 2012 // Chartis said it is streamlining its geographic structure to add greater focus on its growth economies initiatives. The move comes amid the departure of Chartis Growth Economies CEO Julio Portalatin, who is leaving the...
AIA May Bid $6B for ING Asian Business
Jan 17 2012 // AIA Group Ltd, Asia’s No.3 insurer and about one-third owned by American International Group Inc., may bid for the $6 billion Asian insurance operations of ING Groep, sources said, with the prospective sale expected...
Aon Benfield Appoints 2 in Asia Pacific Region
Jan 13 2012 // Aon Benfield announced two new appointments within its Asia Pacific division. Henry To will become non-executive chairman for Greater China. To has been with the firm for 30 years, having served most recently as chief...
Aon Benfield 2011 Catastrophe Study: $107 Bn Insured Losses; $435 Bn Economic
Jan 10 2012 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp, has issued its “Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report,” which aggregates and analyses the natural disaster perils that...
Ratings: QBE Del Istmo, Asia Capital Re, Lloyd’s Syndicate 570 (Atrium)
Jan 9 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a-” to Panama-based QBE Del Istmo Reinsurance Inc, Del Istmo Assurance Corp and Liffey...
Ratings Recap: Evergreen Re, Asian Re, Toa Re, Meritz
Dec 27 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of Bermuda-based Evergreen Reinsurance Company, Ltd. (ERCL), both with stable outlooks....
