Latest Asia Headlines

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

Honda Adds 437,000 Cars to Global Faulty Air Bag Recall

Feb 11 2010 // Honda Motor Co. is adding 437,000 vehicles to its 15-month-old global recall for faulty air bags in the latest quality problem to hit a Japanese automaker.The company will replace the driver’s side air bag inflator...

Australia Competition Watchdog Concerned over NAB’s AXA Apac Bid

Feb 10 2010 // Australia’s competition watchdog raised concerns on Wednesday over National Australia Bank’s (NAB) $11.6 billion bid for fund manager AXA Asia Pacific, tipping the scales toward rival bidder AMP.NAB, already...

AMP to Consider Position on $11 Billion AXA Asia Deal

Feb 8 2010 // Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd has let its exclusive deal with French insurer AXA SA expire for a joint $11 billion buy of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, paving the way for rival bidder National Australia Bank to start...

Best Assigns ‘A’ Ratings to Starr International Insurance (Asia)

Feb 3 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” to Hong Kong–based Starr International Insurance (Asia) Limited – both...

Ratings: RSA Canada, Korean Re, New India, Labuan Re, Al-Ahleia, Generali/Volksfuersorge, GCAN

Jan 28 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength ratings (FSR) to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a” from “a-” of Royal & Sun...

Asia Special Situation Acquisition Corp. Makes Insurance Company Buy

Jan 25 2010 // The Asia Special Situation Acquisition Corp. (ASSAC) announced that it has completed its business combination by the acquisition of one insurance company together with approximately $650 million of assets from two...

AXA Asia Pacific Profit Upgrade Stirs Talk of Higher Bid

Jan 21 2010 // Life insurer and fund manager AXA Asia-Pacific Holdings Ltd expects to report a forecast-beating profit for 2009, putting pressure on rival bidders to raise their offers in a $12 billion battle for the company.AXA...

Cargo Ship and Tanker Hijacked off Somali Coast

Jan 4 2010 // A cargo ship and a chemical tanker have both been hijacked by pirates in the perilous waters off the coast of Somalia, bringing to four the number of ships seized in the past week, officials said Saturday.The multiple...

Special Reuters Report: America’s Route to Recovery

Dec 29 2009 // When Bob Hagan was a boy in Youngstown, Ohio, people equated the coke dust they swept off their doorsteps each day with opportunity, for it came from the steel mills that built this city.After graduating from high school...

Ratings: NIPPONKOA, Russian Re, Lemma, Lakeside Re, Inter Hanover

Dec 18 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” of Hong Kong-based NIPPONKOA Insurance Company (Asia) Limited, both with stable...

NAB Trumps AMP in $12 Billion Offer for AXA Asia-Pacific

Dec 17 2009 // National Australia Bank made a surprise trump bid for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings’ Australian and New Zealand units on Thursday, in a cash deal that would value all the target firm at around $12 billion.The bid tops an...

Aon Risk Services Names Malik as New CEO for Asia

Dec 10 2009 // Aon Risk Services (ARS), the risk management and insurance brokerage business of Aon Corp., announced the appointment of Sandeep Malik as chief executive officer of Asia Aon Risk Services, effective February 1, 2010. He...

Allianz Forecasts Emerging Asian Markets to Lead Global Growth in 2010

Dec 10 2009 // An anlaysis from Allianz Insurance Management Asia Pacific concludes that regional GDP is expected to grow by 6.7 percent in 2010, with Asia contributing “almost 39 percent to next year’s global economic...

ACE Names Schrader Executive VP, General Counsel – Overseas Operations

Nov 24 2009 // The ACE Group announced the promotion of Howard S. Schrader to Executive Vice President and General Counsel of ACE’s Overseas General operations, responsible for the delivery of all legal services to ACE’s P/C...

Ratings Recap: Tokio Millennium Re, Nissan Global, Asia Capital, ACRe

Nov 11 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of’ A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of “aa-” of Bermuda-based Tokio Millennium Re Ltd. (TMR), both with stable outlooks. Best noted...

France’s AXA Eyes Asia Growth with Takeover Bid

Nov 9 2009 // AXA Asia Pacific rejected a $10.3 billion bid from parent AXA SA and Australian rival AMP Ltd on Monday, an initial hurdle for the French insurer’s bold ambitions to expand in Asia.AXA SA, Europe’s...

Lloyd’s Notes Success of Regional Catastrophe Pools, CCRIF

Oct 26 2009 // An article on the Lloyd’s of London web site (www.lloyds.com) discusses the success of an “innovative solution” which can make funding available to governments in the aftermath of a natural...

Is Economic Terrorism a Threat to Southeast Asia?

Sep 24 2009 // If the suicide bombers who targeted two luxury hotels in Jakarta this year hoped their attacks would strike a significant long-term blow against Indonesia’s economy, the reaction of financial markets suggests they...

Ratings Recap: Grupo Nacional, BEST RE, Triple-S, Arab Re, Int’l. Energy, Asian Re

Sep 17 2009 // A. M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of Mexico’s Grupo Nacional...

Best Revises Outlook on SCOR to Positive; Affirms ‘A-‘ Ratings

Sep 4 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of French reinsurer SCOR...