General Meeting and New Subscription Fees
TheHKFI General Meeting held on 13 December 2022 approved the new subscription rates next year for both General Insurance Members (GIMs) and Life Insurance Members (LIMs). We thank all Members for your staunch support. While we will continue making all possible efforts to manage our finances, we will also endeavour to explore and expand our revenue streams. A holistic review will be conducted next year and we look forward to having your wise counsel continuous support.
Think Tank on Reinventing Hong Kong’s International Insurance Hub
Inresponse to the Development Roadmap for the Insurance Sector in Hong Kong published by the Administration on 5 December 2022, the HKFI issued a media statement on the same day to support the visions and missions with a shared goal of reinvigorating Hong Kong as an international insurance hub and risk management centre.
Earlier on, the Think Tank advocated for the removal all travel restrictions as the first vital step to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as an international insurance hub. We take much pleasure to see the recent relaxation on such restrictions. The Think Tank met again on 13 December 2022 to go into deep dives on the two remaining recommendations, namely building an international and local talent pool and supporting the execution of national strategies. We are pleased to report that some concrete ideas are being formulated and final proposals will be put forward for consideration of the Administration.
Practical Challenges on IFRS 17 Implementation Workshop
On8 December 2022, to understand the challenges faced by Member Companies on IFRS 17 implementation, the Task Force on IFRS 17 under General Insurance Council had arranged the captioned workshop for Members to have a roundtable discussion. Participants had a fruitful exchange, and based on the discussion, further technical accounting support from consultants will be explored.
Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme (Pilot Scheme)
On 13 December 2022, the Government officially launched the above Pilot Scheme, administered by the Centre for Green and Sustainable Finance (GSF Centre) under the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group. The HKFI welcomes the Pilot Scheme, which can increase the capacities of practitioners/students/graduates to acquire relevant knowledge and help promote Green and Sustainable Finance for the sector. Members are encouraged to introduce the Pilot Scheme to your industry partners and network. Please visit this link for more details: www.greentalent. org.hk
Gender Equality and Inclusion
According to the HKEx, 16.3% of directors among all directorships in the listed issuers are female while such figure for the financial sector stands at 17.8%. Relevant data at the HKFI are:
• Three out of the six (50%) Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the HKFI, General Insurance Council and Life Insurance Council are female.
• Three out of the ten (30%) members at the Governing Committee are female.
• C-suite at HKFI Secretariat are 100% female.
While we are proud to embrace gender equality and inclusion at the HKFI and celebrate more women in leadership positions, we would also like to get a more holistic view and deeper insights on the overall market situation. In this connection, we will conduct a simple survey on gender equality among all Members. The granular data you provide will give us an overview of the representation of genders in our industry and help us ensure sustainable progress toward gender equality.
Atthe invitation of the HKO, HKFI Chairman Ms Winnie Wong, Task Force on Green Insurance Chairman Mr Eric Hui, HKFI Chief Executive Ms Selina Lau, together with representatives from the Task Force visited the HKO on 14 December 2022.
We thank Director of HKO Dr Cheng Choming and his team for the informative presentation on the latest climate projections of Hong Kong and insightful sharing on climate change. We look forward to more collaborations with the HKO in combating climate change and alleviating its devastating impacts on our community.
International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI)
We are pleased to announce that Ms Sigorney Lau and Mr Steven Zhao have been elected by the IUMI Council as Members of the Facts & Figures and Ocean Hull Technical Committees respectively. Together with IUMI Vice Chair Mr Timothy Lee, IUMI Asia Ambassador Ms Agnes Choi, IUMI Cargo Committee Member Ms Shirley Hung, IUMI Loss Prevention Committee Member Mr Ronald Kwan and HKFI CE Ms Selina Lau serving on the Nominating Committee, Policy Forum and Education Forum, HKFI as IUMI’s Asia Hub will continue to contribute to the work of this international organization.
East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) Annual Conference 2024
The HKFI is going to host the EAIC conference 2024 in Hong Kong. The Organising Committee (OC) chaired by Ms Sally Wan has held its first meeting on 16 December 2022. Together with the four members Mr Alger Fung, Mr Eric Hui, Ms Selina Lau and Mr Ivan Tam, the OC selected the event organizer to kick start the preparatory work.
We will be announcing the conference details soon and the sponsorship programme will follow. We look forward to having your steadfast support to this truly international event!
Visit to the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO)
Wewill be celebrating HKFI’s 35th Anniversary in 2023! To mark this important milestone, we will give the HKFI official website a total makeover with a more user-friendly interface and stylish layout. Details will be announced in due course. Stay tuned for more updates!
Christmas Cocktail Party 2022
We are thrilled to host this annual event at the Park Lane Hong Kong for our Members and industry friends. For the joyous moments that evening, please visit https://www.hkfi.org.hk/#!/mediacorner/album/498.
Christmas and New Year Greetings
Atthis festive time, we thank you for your support and guidance over the past year. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2023!
Membership News
Change of Authorized Representative
General Insurance Member: TT Club Mutual Insurance Limited – Mr Andrew Jones
Life Insurance Member: Transamerica Life (Bermuda) Limited – Mr Chirag Rathod Principal Insurance Company (Hong Kong) Limited – Mr Martin Lau
HKFI Membership
As at 23 Dec 2022, the HKFI has 84 General Insurance Members and 54 Life Insurance Members.
HKFI Website Revamp