The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, prompted by the rapid pace of globalization and growing convergence of financial services, will strengthen its core capabilities and nurture a close partnership with other regulatory bodies.
This pledge was made by Commissioner of Insurance Clement Cheung when he released the OCI Annual Report 2006 on February 16.
“A vibrant and progressive regulator should not only be content with effective enforcement of prescribed standards, but should also strive to enrich its knowledge and understanding of changing market dynamics,” Mr. Cheung said. “To this end, the OCI will cooperate with other relevant regulators to pursue worthwhile initiatives such as coordinated enforcement actions, systematic information exchange and staff secondment programs.”
Many insurers are venturing into retirement planning and wealth management to meet consumer demands spurred by a matured market, an aging population and rising general affluence.
“We will focus attention on product design and marketing strategies to ensure that the interest of policyholders is properly safeguarded,” said Mr. Cheung.
Emerging as an international financial center, Hong Kong can play a more prominent role in contributing toward sustainable development of the Mainland economy. Looking ahead, Mr. Cheung stressed, “We will collaborate with industry practitioners to open up new frontiers as proposed in the report and action agenda of the Economic Summit on China’s 11th Five-Year Plan and the development of Hong Kong.
”As of December 31, there were 181 authorized insurers, 52,121 appointed insurance agents (including their responsible officers and technical representatives) and 6,161 authorized insurance brokers (including their chief executives and technical representatives) operating in Hong Kong.
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