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The Weekly News Update is a weekly
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Merging with the
Mainland: China's M&A
opportunities
M&A activity in
China continues to surge, thanks to strong economic growth and
private equity activity. With regulatory changes in
2006, several sectors should see
further M&A
action in 2007 and beyond. Find out where the
opportunities lie. |
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China - Insurance
premium forecast to surge 24% in 2007
Source:
Xinhua, 16 January 2008
Insurance premiums in China are forecast to rise 24% to
RMB700 billion (US$96.6 billion) in 2007, well above the 14.4% rise
in 2006. According to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission,
total assets of insurers operating in China hit RMB3 trillion
(US$409 billion) by the end of 2007. China now had 107 insurance
companies, including 62 Chinese-funded and 45 foreign-funded.
However,
China's insurance companies are faced with a talent shortage amid
the fast business expansion. Experts held the talent shortage
resulted from the expanded business scale and the relatively low
attractiveness of the field in comparison to the more lucrative
funds and securities sectors.
India - IBA
proposes setting up an indigenous payment network
Source: The Economic Times, 20 January
2008
The Indian
Banks' Association (IBA) is keen to set up an indigenous payment
system for India. The proposed payment system, called India Pay, is
expected to replace the existing payment networks for domestic
transactions, which is dominated by Visa and
MasterCard.
The
huge fees paid to VISA and MasterCard, which easily jumps over
US$100 million on an annual basis, is forcing IBA to think in this
direction. When replaced by indigenous payment system India Pay,
this fee is expected to reduce drastically thereby making such
transactions cheaper, at least for domestic
transactions.
Korea - Banks protest move
to delay bancassurance expansion
Source: Korea
Herald, 19 January 2008
Korean banks are moving to counter mounting opposition
to government plans to allow the sale of car and life insurance by
bank tellers from April 2008. The latest move comes as local
insurance firms protest the expansion plan, saying that the change
would threaten the job security of around 200,000 insurance
salespeople across the nation.
Meanwhile, President-elect Lee Myung-bak's
Grand National Party is ramping up opposition to the plan. The
upcoming general election in April is putting pressure on
politicians not to push the bancassurance expansion plan, fearing
that they may lose the vote of insurance
salespeople.
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industry.
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This Weekly News Update is a free newsletter,
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industry practices. If you have colleagues or friends who may be
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Fusion Consulting is a
business intelligence consultancy providing clear strategic advice on
Asia-Pacific markets. With offices in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong and
400 industry consultants in 16 countries, we conduct custom research
and consulting to help companies understand their markets, compete more
effectively and grow into new areas of opportunity. Email more@fusionc.com or visit
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