Allianz expands AGCS in China and Indonesia

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is targeting further growth in Asia by expanding its presence in China and Indonesia, seeking to capitalize on opportunities from the growing insurance markets.

The company has commenced operations in Beijing, China and Jakarta, Indonesia, following the opening of its new branch office in South Korea in June.

AGCS has also appointed Megasari Manurung, underwriter for financial lines, and Indrajaya Wardhana, underwriter for engineering, based within Allianz Utama in Jakarta.

The new Beijing division, located in China Overseas Plaza, is AGCS’s third in the country, after Guangdong and Shanghai. The expansion of the China operations is aimed at capitalizing on products for engineering and liability as well as emerging opportunities in environmental impairment liability (EIL), entertainment insurance and global programmes.

In Indonesia, AGCS operates as a division of Allianz Utama in Jakarta and will initially focus on financial lines and engineering products alongside the country’s robust economic growth and increased investment into infrastructure.

Carsten Scheffel, AGCS board member and chief regions and markets officer for Asia, said: "The Asian market is of utmost importance to AGCS, and in 2016 contributed 5 percent to our overall global premium volume of €7.6 billion. Since we opened our Asia regional office in Singapore in 2012 the region has been the one of the fastest growing markets delivering double-digit growth rates. We see a number of significant opportunities in Asia, with the increasing number of large infrastructure projects in railways, ports, subway lines, and a growing focus on environment liability. These all require expertly tailored insurance programs with significant lead insurer capacity, one of the core strengths of AGCS."

Patrick Zeng, AGCS CEO Hong Kong and Greater China, added: "The growing interconnectivity and complexity of risks affecting businesses have also led to the rising demand for newer offerings such as EIL, crisis management, entertainment and cyber as recent high profile cases have increased the awareness of the necessity of such coverage."

In China, engineering, entertainment and EIL solutions offer the most promising opportunities in the corporate insurance segment, the company said.

In the engineering segment, AGCS seeks to capitalize on opportunities arising from the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative. It is predicted that over $8 trillion will be invested in infrastructure projects across 65 countries which will drive demand for large-capacity construction and engineering insurance solutions. According to industry estimates, insurance premium potential from OBOR infrastructure construction projects to date is about $7 billion. The AGCS engineering team in Greater China is led by Mark Chan.

AGCS expects strong demand for EIL following the recent regulatory enforcement of environmental law in China. Entertainment is another growth sector for the company in China.

According to the statement, in Indonesia regulators have indicated that positive economic developments such as an acceleration of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 5.3 percent by year-end 2017, would boost Indonesia's insurance premium growth with growing demand in property and engineering insurance following a larger government budget for infrastructure.

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