Foreign insurance brokers keen on expansion

Several foreign insurance brokers are looking to expand their presence in China to cash in on opportunities arising from the gradual opening up of the country's insurance sector and the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, sources said.

Aon Corp, the United Kingdom-based global risk management and reinsurance solution provider, has already reaped the rewards of such collaboration through Aon-COFCO, its 2003 joint venture with Chinese State-owned grains and food conglomerate COFCO. The venture is now a leading provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage services in China.

At the Boao Forum last month, Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, had indicated that China was planning to introduce more measures to further open its financial market, including easier market access to foreign firms and a level playing field vis-a-vis domestic firms, as well as allowing qualified foreign investors to operate insurance brokerages.