Korean Re Completes Establishment of Shanghai Branch... Now 11 Overseas Bases

Won Jong-gyu, CEO of Korean Re

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Korean Re announced on the 15th that it has completed the establishment of its Shanghai branch in China.

Korean Re received official approval for the Shanghai branch from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on December 30th.

The Shanghai branch is the second base in China following the Beijing office established in 1997. While the Beijing office handles local market research and headquarters support, the Shanghai branch will serve as the center of actual business operations.

Korean Re has been promoting the establishment of the Shanghai branch based on the judgment that a localization strategy is necessary as the Chinese insurance market rapidly grows.

The Chinese insurance market is the world's second largest and Asia's largest insurance market, with abundant growth potential. In 2018, China's insurance market recorded $570 billion in gross written premiums, a 3.92% increase from the previous year, accounting for 11.6% of global premiums.

Korean Re expects that the establishment of the Shanghai branch will increase the acquisition of high-quality risks within China.

Accordingly, Korean Re's overseas bases have increased to 11. Following the establishment of a local corporation at Lloyd's in the UK in 2015, it completed the establishment of the Labuan branch in Malaysia in 2017, the Dubai branch in 2018, and a local corporation in Switzerland in 2019. This year, it is also promoting the establishment of a representative office in Bogota, Colombia.

Won Jong-gyu, CEO of Korean Re, said, "The Shanghai branch will be an important base to establish Korean Re's business foundation in the vast Chinese market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.