logo
Hong Kong life insurance sales jump 43% to record high in first quarter

Hong Kong life insurance sales jump 43% to record high in first quarter

Life insurance sales in Hong Kong rose 43 per cent in the first quarter to a record high on demand for protection and estate planning from high-net-worth customers and visitors from mainland China, as the city seeks to become a wealth management hub to rival global leaders like Switzerland.
The industry wrote HK$93.4 billion (US$12 billion) worth of new life policies in the first quarter, up from HK$65.3 billion a year earlier, the Insurance Authority said on Friday. It was the highest first-quarter sales tally since the authority was established in 2016.
Hong Kong had a record year in 2024, when insurers posted a 21.4 per cent jump in sales to HK$219.8 billion, courtesy of a world-record policy sold by HSBC Life.
'Hong Kong's insurance industry continued its strong momentum in early 2025, supported by sustained demand for savings, health, and protection products from both local customers and mainland Chinese visitors,' said Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau.
The regulator did not disclose policy sales to mainland visitors, having earlier decided to release such statistics after a review about the disclosures of non-local buyers.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump is right to reverse Biden's failed curbs on chips to China
Trump is right to reverse Biden's failed curbs on chips to China

South China Morning Post

time7 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

Trump is right to reverse Biden's failed curbs on chips to China

China policy – or for that matter any policy – coming out of the Donald Trump White House is not usually known for being the product of considered thought and deliberation. Advertisement But allowing China to resume buying more legacy chips other than the most advanced ones may be its most rational and defensible yet. Negotiations after Geneva and London led to China loosening export controls on rare earths and the US allowing chipmakers such as Nvidia to resume selling its H20 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. That's usually interpreted as a quid pro quo. However, it's clear Washington also thinks it's good policy as well as good for business. H20 was tailor-made for the China market when the US started imposing chip curbs. But it eventually fell under expanding US restrictions covering even legacy ones. At one time, Gina Raimondo, Joe Biden's commerce secretary, boasted that she would tighten the curbs every time a firm like Nvidia tried to get around them. But it soon became clear that the curbs weren't working. First, the squeeze actually made China move quickly to refashion its entire chipmaking industry. When Raimondo was making an official visit to Beijing in the summer of 2023, Huawei released its Kirin 9000s chip for its Mate 60 smartphones, using China's SMIC 7nm node. That was a clear challenge to Raimondo and her boss at the White House. Advertisement Soon, articles questioning the effectiveness of the chip curbs were appearing in mainstream American media, including Foreign Affairs, the semi-official publication of the US foreign policy establishment.

China and the US wanted Sweden to host their next round of trade talks – why?
China and the US wanted Sweden to host their next round of trade talks – why?

South China Morning Post

time11 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

China and the US wanted Sweden to host their next round of trade talks – why?

Chinese and American negotiators will gather in Stockholm for a much-anticipated third round of trade talks on Monday, putting the Swedish capital in the spotlight and prompting questions as to why the Scandinavian country was the venue of choice for the world's two biggest economies. It began at a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of 20 countries in South Africa earlier this month, where Sweden had been invited for the first time. Both China and the US approached the delegation from Stockholm about holding the talks in the capital, said Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson in a July 22 social media post. 'That the world's largest economies turn to us shows that Sweden enjoys great international trust – and that we play an important role in fostering dialogue and cooperation.' Hosting US-China trade negotiations in third countries is a marked change from the dialogues that put a temporary freeze on the bilateral trade war during the first term of US President Donald Trump. Those talks were principally held in Washington, with then-Vice-Premier Liu He making regular visits to the White House. Now, neutral territory has been selected in Europe – Geneva in May, London in June and Stockholm for the coming negotiations – suggesting a more level playing field between the two economies, according to Niklas Swanstrom, director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm.

US business leaders to visit China as both sides meet for latest round of trade talks
US business leaders to visit China as both sides meet for latest round of trade talks

South China Morning Post

time14 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

US business leaders to visit China as both sides meet for latest round of trade talks

A high-level American business delegation will visit China this week on a trip that coincides with the latest round of US-China trade talks, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The trip to Beijing will be organised by the US-China Business Council and led by FedEx chief executive Rajesh Subramaniam, the council's board chair. The full list of visiting business leaders and schedule is not known but both sources said that Boeing executives and the president of the council Sean Stein were certain to be part of the delegation. 'They are expected to meet with Chinese officials - potentially to revive business discussions,' a source said. The council has not responded to requests for comment. The council regularly organises visits to China that coincide with significant events and involve meetings with senior officials. Last year's visit coincided with a major policy meeting in Beijing and included senior executives from Apple, Boeing, Goldman Sachs and Micro Technology. The upcoming visit will be the highest-level American business delegation since US President Donald Trump started his latest tariff war in April.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store