China and Guernsey’s insurance regulators have signed a memorandum of understanding to make it easier to do business in both jurisdictions.
The agreement between the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) is the third insurance deal to be struck between Guernsey and China in the last nine months.
It will enable a flow of information between the GFSC and CIRC to ensure compliance with the relevant laws in each jurisdiction, thereby promoting the integrity, efficiency and financial soundness of those doing business between the two places.
It also includes guidelines for cooperation, including both supervisory bodies having a specific point of contact for communication between the organisations, the types and timing of requests for information, and the respect for a public interest test.
CIRC vice chairman Wenhui Chen said the agreement “shows the strong relationship built up by an important jurisdiction from developed countries and another from the emerging markets”.
Chen added: “I hope the memorandum of understanding will strengthen the relationship between China and Guernsey especially for the insurance industry and we look forward to cooperation after the signing.”
Guernsey Finance chief executive Dominic Wheatley added: “The signing has broader, positive implications for the island’s finance sector as it will also provide Chinese insurance companies with an approved conduit for investing into Guernsey funds, once they have obtained a quota from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.”
Last year, Guernsey representatives signed agreements with both the China Captive Alliance and the Kashgar government to promote captive insurance in the region.
The agreements, signed in June 2016, laid out plans to cooperate on captive insurance market development and on financial innovation, to promote the viability of the Chinese captive market, and to cooperate on communication between China and the international captive industry.
