Greater Bay Re Limited

Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Government of Hong Kong, sees “enormous potential” for catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) to provide important disaster risk capital to underpin risks in the Greater Bay Area.

The inaugural catastrophe bond issuance in Hong Kong is a clear vote of confidence in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) and a sign of the exciting opportunities that lie ahead, according to regulator the Insurance Authority (IA).

The first catastrophe bond to be issued out of Hong Kong positions the emerging insurance-linked securities (ILS) domicile as a gateway to global institutional capital for China’s risk transfer and reinsurance needs, according to Aon Securities, who also highlighted that local investors participated in the transaction.

The issuance of the first catastrophe bond through Hong Kong has helped to open up a new channel for risk diversification for the domestic catastrophe insurance market, according to the sponsor of the Greater Bay Re Ltd. (Series 2021-1), China Re Group.

The very first catastrophe bond to be issued out of Hong Kong has now been completed, with a $30 million Greater Bay Re Ltd. (Series 2021-1) cat bond coming to market on behalf of sponsoring reinsurer China Re.

China’s insurance regulator has called on insurers in the country to look to sponsor catastrophe bonds in Hong Kong as a way to access diversified sources of reinsurance capacity and offload peak natural catastrophe risks.

We’ve learned that the first company destined to be an insurance-linked securities (ILS) special purpose vehicle has already been registered in Hong Kong, with Greater Bay Re Limited established to issue a catastrophe bond on behalf of China Re, sources told us.