Spanish reinsurance firm Mapfre Re has secured regulatory approval to set up a subsidiary in Beijing, multiple media reports said citing news agency Xinhua.
According to the information provided by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), Mapfre Re’s Beijing unit will have a working capital of CNY500m ($73.6m).
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The regulator has given a year to the reinsurance firm to complete the preparation and set up the subsidiary.
As per Caixin Global’s report, Ignacio Rodríguez Arteche, who served as the company’s principal representative at the Beijing office, is the proposed general manager of the new arm.
Founded in 1986, Mapfre Re is the professional reinsurer of Mapfre Group, with operations in more than 100 nations.
It offers services and reinsurance capacity via all kinds of treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions in both life and general insurance lines of business.
In China, the reinsurer has been partnering with local insurance companies to conduct reinsurance business since the 1980s.
The move highlights Mapfre Re’s faith in China’s reinsurance market.
In November 2021, German insurance major Allianz secured local authorities’ nod to take control of its life insurance joint venture there.
Later, in December 2021, the CBIRC revised the risk management regulations to increase oversight and reduce risk in the insurance sector.
Among others, the new norms were aimed at limiting the holding of non-core businesses and regulating investments in other companies.
