Hong Kong insurers to weather Beijing’s tax shift with 8-10% premium growth: S&P

Credit-rating agency says heightened scrutiny likely to create compliance hurdles, not destroy demand Hong Kong’s life insurers could still see annual premium growth of 8 to 10 per cent over the next two years, despite a recent regulatory shift stemming from Beijing’s overseas taxation rules, according to credit-rating agency S&P Global Ratings. Resilient demand for overseas diversification should prevent a lasting downturn, the agency said, in the latest vote of confidence in the city’s thriving insurance and wealth management industries. “We expect a temporary slowdown in sales to mainland customers,” S&P stated in a new report, adding that it did not expect a sustained decline in business despite potential near-term volatility amid mainland China clients reassessing their offshore investment choices. “Underlying demand for multi-currency asset diversification, offshore wealth management, and healthcare and protection remain[s] intact,” the agency said. Beijing’s taxation bureau said a week ago that recent scrutiny stemmed from an existing tax rule rather than a new policy.

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