Return of mainland Chinese visitors, launch of ‘insurance connect’ a ‘huge opportunity’ for Hong Kong insurers

‘Time has now arrived for the corporate sector to show optimism in the future of the city,’ Manulife’s Damien Green tells SCMP China Conference

Insurance Authority CEO Clement Cheung says Hong Kong insurers need to prepare their products for return of mainland visitors

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The return of mainland visitors should be a tremendous boost for Hong Kong insurers. Photo: K. Y. Chen

Published: 9:49pm, 27 Jul 2022Updated: 9:55pm, 27 Jul 2022

A return of mainland visitors to Hong Kong and the introduction of the long-awaited “insurance connect” scheme in the Greater Bay Area will bring huge business opportunities for the city’s insurance industry, according to regulators and industry players.

“Hong Kong’s post-pandemic recovery should now not be viewed as a distant and unlikely dream but instead as a near-term prospect that ought to be generating confidence, optimism and greater investment from business,” said Damien Green, Asia president and CEO of Manulife, one of the city’s biggest insurance firms.

“The time has now arrived for the corporate sector to show optimism in the future of the city. Let’s kick off the next 25 years under the One Country, Two Systems framework with great optimism.”

Hong Kong can provide a wide range of insurance cover to the 80 million residents of the bay area, Green said at the 2022 SCMP China Conference on Wednesday.

When Manulife surveyed more than 1,600 mainland Chinese residents last year, it found the vast majority planned to visit Hong Kong when the border reopens, while more than half intend to purchase insurance products here, Green said.

“Insurance penetration within the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is low at only 5.5 per cent compared to almost 21 per cent in Hong Kong,” he said. “We fully expect that the GBA integration will exponentially increase the volume and velocity of mainland visitors to Hong Kong who are seeking personal financial protection solutions.”

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