insurance asset management News

PwC Weighs Halving of China Financial Services Audit Staff, Sources Say

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is considering slashing up to half its financial services auditing staff in China, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as a regulatory investigation and an exodus of clients darken business prospects. The move follows Chinese regulators’ …

Global Reserve Managers Upbeat on Growth but Worry About Geopolitical Risks

An escalation in geopolitical conflicts is the biggest risk to the global economy, according to central bank reserve managers, who are generally positive about the world’s economic outlook, according to an annual survey released on Thursday. The UBS Asset Management …

PwC Starts Mass China Layoffs After Losing Dozens of Clients

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is cutting staff across its China operations, according to people familiar with the matter, after an exodus of corporate clients diminished the accounting firm’s revenue prospects in the country. At least 100 staffers from different teams at PwC …

Japan Insurers Plan to Sell $3.1 Billion Worth of Honda Shares, Reuters Reports

Japan’s four top property and casualty insurers, along with other financial firms, are planning to sell around ¥500 billion ($3.1 billion) worth of shares in Honda Motor Co., Reuters reported. Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Sompo Holdings Inc. and two units …

Catastrophe Bonds Are Luring Retail Investors to High-Risk Debt

There was a time when investing in catastrophe bonds was the preserve of hedge funds and other sophisticated alternative asset managers. But after underpinning the best hedge fund strategy of 2023, the bonds are finding a wider audience. Catastrophe-bond funds …

Evergrande Liquidation Lawyers Probe PwC, Others to Recoup Creditor Losses: Sources

Lawyers appointed by the liquidators of China Evergrande Group 3333.HK are investigating some of the property developer’s service providers including its former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, to potentially recoup losses for creditors, three sources said. Evergrande, once China’s largest property developer, was …

Insurers to Build Private Credit Exposure in Coming Years: Moody’s

Global insurers plan to invest further in the coming years in the growing but opaque private credit market, according to a new report by Moody’s Ratings. In a survey this week of the world’s largest insurers, Moody’s found that nearly …

KKR Weighs Entering Private Credit in Japan to Challenge Banks

KKR & Co. is considering entering the private credit market in Japan to provide an alternative to bank loans. “It will be a medium to long-term initiative,” Hiro Hirano, the head of KKR Japan said in an interview. “I think …

China Weighs Record Fine for PwC Over Evergrande Audit Work

China is poised to impose a record fine on PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and suspend some of the global auditor’s local operations over its role in one of the nation’s biggest alleged financial fraud cases, according to people familiar with the matter. …

PwC Lost Five China Clients After Evergrande-Linked Probe

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP lost five Chinese clients in May alone, adding to a list of more than a dozen firms its stopped auditing in the country in the last two years. China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. said on May 27 it …