Hong Kong Insurance Report Q2 2008 Available Now

DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d0af52/hong_kong_insuranc)
has announced the addition of the "Hong Kong Insurance Report Q2 2008"
report to their offering.

The Hong Kong Insurance Report provides independent forecasts and
competitive intelligence on Hong Kongs insurance industry.

As was the case in Q108, the main focus of this report is BMI's
proprietary Insurance Business Environment Rating (IBER). The rating
brings together a number of pieces of relevant quantitative data,
together with BMI's Country Risk Rating (CRR). The IBER makes it
easier for the insurance sector business environment in a particular
country to be compared with the business environment for any other
BMI-monitored industry in that country. The IBER also allows an
objective and meaningful comparison of the insurance sector business
environment between countries. Over the coming months, we will
substantially change the format of the BMI insurance reports. In
essence, we will focus to a much greater extent on the companies that
are active in the non-life and life segments.

Hong Kong's IBER is 76.5. Relative to other countries in Asia
Pacific, it is an attractive insurance market for foreign insurers.
Within the region, Hong Kong stands out for its business-friendly
environment. Hong Kong's Q407 GDP figures revealed an unexpected
acceleration in growth from the previous quarter. The territory
registered real GDP growth of 6.7% year-on-year (y-o-y), up from 6.3%
in Q307, buoyed by tight labour market conditions and low costs of
credit which ensured domestic demand remained robust. However, going
forward real GDP growth will slow, as weaker external conditions weigh
on the city's export sector. We are forecasting economic growth in
Hong Kong to slow to 5.6% in 2008, after accelerating to 6.3% 2007. It
should especially be noted that service export growth was at 10.5%
y-o-y in Q4, compared with 12.6% in Q3. We expect this to slow as
well, as a result of the global credit crunch, which will impact on
Hong Kong's financial sector - which makes up the bulk of its service
exports.

Over the forecast period, we anticipate that non-life premiums
will grow somewhat faster than GDP at 8% annually in local currency
terms and by 8% in US$ terms. Life premiums are expected to grow
rather more slowly than GDP at 3% annually in local currency terms and
by 3% in US$ terms. The key drivers of growth in the non-life segment
in 2007-2012 are the anticipated rise in nominal GDP from around

US$204.81bn to US$296.54bn and an expected increase in non-life
penetration from 1.58% of GDP to 1.60%. The key driver of growth in
the life segment is the envisaged rise in population from about 7.2mn
to about 7.6mn in 2012. Hong Kong's life penetration is expected to
decline over that period.

The competitive landscape is marked by massive competition. Hong
Kong remains one of the most crowded and competitive insurance markets
in the world. Both markets are dominated by large, well-known
companies.

The main weakness of Hong Kong's insurance sector is the
viciousness of the competition. Thus the favourable business
conditions which have made Hong Kong such an attractive place to
invest have led to it receiving quite low scores in terms of potential
returns in the non-life sector.

Key Topics Covered:

The Sector at a Glance

Table: Overview of Hong Kong's Insurance Sector

Key Insights on the Insurance Sector of Hong Kong

SWOT Analysis

Hong Kong Industry SWOT

Future Development of BMI's Insurance Reports

Latest News Projections and Forecasts

Table: Premiums - Historical Data and Forecasts

Projections and Drivers of Growth

Table: Growth Drivers

Country Update

Macroeconomic Outlook

Table: Hong Kong - Economic Activity

Political Outlook

Insurance Business Environment Rating

Table: Hong Kong - Insurance Business Environment I

Table: Asia Pacific Insurance Business Environment Rankings

Regional Context

Table: Non-Life Premiums in a Regional Context, 2007

Table: Life Premiums in a Regional Context, 2007

Table: Comparison of Major Lines as % Non-Life Premiums, 2006

Analysis of Competitive Conditions

Hong Kong - Non-Life Segment

Table: Presence of Cross-Border Insurers, Non-Life

Hong Kong - Life Segment

Table: Presence of Cross-Border Insurers, Life

Methodology

Basis of Projections

Insurance Business Environment Rating

Table: Insurance Business Environment Indicators and Rationale

Table: Weighting Of Indicators

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d0af52/hong_kong_insuranc

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax from USA: 646-607-1907
Fax from rest of the world: +353-1-481-1716

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