TIBET A FINAL DOMESTIC FRONTIER FOR CHINESE INSURERS

Tibet, now classed by China as an “autonomous region” of the country, is becoming one of the fastest-growing parts of the country for Chinese insurers. Ping An P/C opened its branch in Tibet earlier this week — completing its roll-out into areas administered from Beijing —  with demand for insurance increasing as the region becomes more interlinked with China’s infrastructure. Premiums in the first two months of this year were up nearly 75% on the figures for the same period in 2006, making it the fastest-growing part of China, although as yet the insurance sector in the region has no regulator of its own. The regulator in Sichuan currently covers the Tibetan sector, underlining the autonomus region’s different status from the rest of China. Property premiums rose 24% to reach 195m yuan in 2006. PICC P/C and Anbang P/C are the two insurers to have entered Tibet prior to Ping An.