Latest Asia Headlines

All the headlines from our Asia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Analysts Say Asia-Pacific Trade Talks Could Stretch Well into 2014

Apr 4 2013 // Free-trade talks between the United States and 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region could stretch into late next year, especially if Japan joins the negotiations, former U.S. trade officials said on...

Munich Re Study Sees Asia Pacific Dominating Insurance Growth by 2020

Mar 20 2013 // “Asia-Pacific will be the dominant driver of world insurance growth by 2020,” according to a study published by Munich Re’s Economic Research Department. The report forecasts that premium income for the...

Report Warns of Rise in Maritime Crime in South East Asia

Mar 18 2013 // UK’-based marine intelligence provider, Dryad Maritime, is releasing a special report – “Special Advisory Southeast Asia. Disorganized theft to organized crime” – which will focus on the rise...

Finaccord Reports on Bancassurance in Global Markets

Mar 14 2013 // A new report from UK based market research, publishing and consulting firm Finaccord notes that “emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America offer the most growth potential for bancassurers but the...

Hong Kong’s Peak Re Licenses AIR Worldwide Catastrophe Modeling Systems

Mar 14 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide announced that Hong Kong-based Peak Reinsurance Co. Ltd., which focuses on the Asia-Pacific market, has selected AIR’s catastrophe modeling solutions to manage its catastrophe...

Iran’s March Crude Exports Fall to Lowest Since Sanctions Began

Mar 12 2013 // Iran’s crude oil exports in March may plunge by a quarter from a month earlier to the lowest since tight Western sanctions came into effect in 2012, industry sources said, squeezing income for Tehran as sanctions...

Carlyle, KKR Among Bidders for Insurer in ‘Hot’ Thai Market

Mar 12 2013 // Carlyle Group LP and KKR & Co. LP are among the bidders to have made first round offers to buy a minority stake in Thai Life Insurance Co. Ltd., in a deal said to be worth about $500 million, according to people close...

White House Says Will Seek ‘Fast-Track’ Trade Authority

Mar 4 2013 // The White House on Friday said it would work for approval of politically contentious legislation that would ease the way for new trade deals, as it tries to wrap up talks on an Asia-Pacific free-trade agreement this...

TransRe Appoints Saville Manager, Sr. VP-Underwriting in Singapore

Mar 4 2013 // TransRe, the brand name for Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries, announced that Robert Saville has been appointed Sr. VP – Head of Underwriting at the new Singapore office of Transatlantic Reinsurance...

Insurance Australia Group Posts US$ 840 Million Half Year Insurance Profit

Feb 22 2013 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced an insurance profit of A$815 million [US$840 million] for the half-year ended 31 December 2012, compared to A$276 million [US$284.6 million], for the first half of 2012....

International Chamber of Commerce Survey Finds Improved Economic Climate

Feb 13 2013 // The Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Munich-based Ifo institute for economic research have released findings, which conclude that the “world economy is showing signs of brightening after...

Half of 2012’s Global Economic Losses Due to U.S. Natural Disasters: Aon

Feb 11 2013 // While global economic losses were close to average in 2012, insured losses were 36 percent higher than the 10-year average ($72 billion versus $53 billion) because the two most costly events of the year occurred in the...

Russia Arctic Natural Gas Shipping Route to Asia 10 Years Away

Jan 28 2013 // Tanker transport of Russian Arctic gas through the Bering Strait to Asian buyers is at least 10 years away because of ageing infrastructure, vessel shortages and growing disputes over waterway rights.Thawing sea ice caused...

Half of 2012’s Global Economic Losses Due to U.S. Natural Disasters: Aon

Jan 24 2013 // While global economic losses were close to average in 2012, insured losses last year were 36 percent higher than the 10 year average ($72 billion vs. $53 billion) because the two most costly events of the year occurred in...

Aon Benfield’s 2012 Cat Review Finds 36% Rise in Insured Losses at $133 Billion

Jan 24 2013 // Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has published its Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report along with the establishment of a new website, Catastrophe Insight,...

Peak Re Launched in Hong Kong for ‘Underserved’ Asia Pacific Markets

Jan 10 2013 // Peak Reinsurance Company Limited formally announced that it has opened for business. The new reinsurer, established to capture the growing demand for modernized reinsurance solutions in Asia Pacific, said it has...

BMS Group Opens Sydney Office

Jan 4 2013 // The UK’s BMS Group, an independent global broker, has announced the opening of its Sydney office, which it said “marks another significant strategic goal for the group, with its first office in the Asia-Pacific...

Cooper Gay Targets Treaty Business in Asia with Yip Appointment

Dec 19 2012 // Independent insurance and reinsurance intermediary Cooper Gay, has appointed David Yip as Head of Treaty for Cooper Gay Hong Kong, as part of its expansion drive in Asia.“Yip will place particular emphasis on...

Best Special Report Focuses on Asia-Pacific Insurers Cat Loss Challenges

Dec 17 2012 // A special report from A.M. Best analyzes the “reduced frequency of large-scale catastrophes through November 2012, which, Best said, has “helped Asia-Pacific non-life insurers to slowly recover from losses...

AIG May Raise up to $6.5 Billion through AIA Share Sale – Sources

Dec 17 2012 // American International Group may raise as much as $6.5 billion from the sale of its remaining stake in AIA Group Ltd in Asia’s second-largest block sale ever, exiting a business the U.S. insurer started nearly 100...