Guernsey is building on its insurance offering in China after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a key Chinese business centre.
The MoU between the Beijing Airport Economic Core Zone (BAECZ) and Guernsey Finance, on behalf of the island’s finance sector, was signed in Beijing by BAECZ Management Committee Deputy Director Jie Hu and Guernsey Finance Chairman Lyndon Trott.
Under the agreement, the parties will cooperate in areas of captive insurance market development, financial innovation and international information exchange to promote the viability of the Chinese captive market and wider communication between China and the global captive industry.
They will also encourage the efforts of Beijing Shunyi to become the regional captive domicile centre of China and support Chinese business in setting up captive insurance companies domestically and internationally.
Trott, Guernsey’s Deputy Chief Minister, commented: “This MoU further reflects our commitment to develop our cross-border communication with China, specifically the BAECZ, a key hub for China’s industrial, business and creative sectors.
“Businesses in this zone are eager to learn the advantages of utilising captive insurance vehicles as opposed to insuring through the commercial market, and Guernsey, as Europe’s number one captive insurance domicile, is perfectly placed to assist them with this.”
The BAECZ at Beijing Capital International Airport was created to boost the city’s airport-based economy and features developments in five key sectors: airport transportation and related industries, strategic emerging industries, industrial finance, business services, and culture and creative industries.
The MoU comes a day after one signed between the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, which will enable a flow of information between the regulators to ensure compliance with relevant laws in each jurisdiction.
Other recent developments involving Guernsey and China’s insurance sectors include Guernsey representatives signing MoUs in June 2016 with the China Captive Alliance and the Kashgar Government. Both agreements set out a statement of intent to facilitate captive insurance market development initiatives between the parties, international communication, financial innovation and information sharing.
The last six months has also seen three Chinese delegations visit Guernsey in order to better understand the island’s full range of specialist insurance, fund, private wealth and asset management products.