而歐洲在關鍵航運保險方面的支配地位是中國實現其野心的一大障礙。

對俄羅斯石油出口的廣泛制裁凸顯了潛在問題。

Rare Earth Insurance Partner（瑞恩保險經紀）首席執行官王為先生在接受《南華早報》採訪時發表了評論。

中國航運業以其世界工廠的地位為支撐，在過去的幾十年中得到了迅猛發展，中國現在擁有世界上十大港口中的七個。除此之外，中國還與東亞鄰國日本和韓國一起主導著世界造船業。

同時，中國也努力加速其航運相關的法律和金融服務的發展，但王為表示，這些專業服務仍然遠遠落後於其基礎設施建設。

“如果我們說在過去的四十年裡，中國船只的數量從一艘增加到了一百艘，那麼同期中國的承保能力也從一增加到一百了嗎？事實並非如此。”王為說道。

他表示，中國保險公司已經擴大了他們的水险產品在船體和貨物保險方面的保障範圍。據國際海洋保險聯盟稱，以保費規模衡量，中國在2021年成為了全球最大的貨運险市場和第二大的船舶险市場。

但王為表示，中國在某些特定類型的水险方面仍然扮演著微不足道的角色，例如保賠险以及再保險。

“這些領域長期以來一直被歐洲和美國所主導，中國要突破這個障礙是相當困難的。”他說。

儘管中國進入全球水险市場的威脅並不迫在眉睫，但香港保險聯合會表示，西方的支配地位仍然可能是個問題。

在向《南華早報》的書面回覆中表示，再保險仍然“由國際再保人所主導，這可能會在類似俄烏衝突的情況下引發不同的制裁問題。”

自2019年北京發布了其灣區發展計劃以來，促進該地區的水险發展已成為重要優先事項。製造業大省廣東、香港的國際金融中心以及廣州、深圳和香港的頂級集裝箱港口被一併納入計劃。分析人士表示，這是孵化中國水险的理想地點。

點擊此處閱讀全文。

European dominance of key insurance for shippers a hurdle for Beijing’s ambitions.

Wide-ranging sanctions on Russian oil exports in response to the Ukraine war highlight potential problem.

Among other comments, Wang Wei, Rare Earth Insurance Partner’s Chief Executive, shares his views with the South China Morning Post.

Bolstered by its status as the world’s factory, China’s shipping industry has developed rapidly in recent decades and the country is now home to seven of the world’s 10 biggest seaports. It also dominates the world’s shipbuilding industry, alongside East Asian neighbours Japan and South Korea.

Efforts have also been made to accelerate its development of shipping-related legal and financial services, but Wang Wei, said such professional services still lagged far behind its physical infrastructure.

“If we say the number of Chinese vessels increased from one to 100 in the past four decades, has its underwriting capacity also increased from one to 100 during the same time? It’s doubtful,” Wang said.

He said Chinese insurance companies had widened the scope of their marine insurance products in hull and cargo coverage. In terms of premium volume, China was the largest cargo insurance market in the world in 2021 and the second-largest hull insurance market, according to the International Union of Marine Insurance.

But Wang said the country still played a negligible role in some specific types of marine insurance, such as protection and indemnity, and reinsurance.

“These sectors have long been dominated by Europe and the United States, and it would be quite hard for China to break that barrier,” he said.

… While there was no imminent threat to China’s access to the global marine insurance market, Western dominance could still be a concern, the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers said.

In a written reply to the Post, it said reinsurance was still “dominated by international reinsurers, which can bring up different sanctions issues” in situations like the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Since Beijing outlined its bay area development plan in 2019, promoting the area’s marine insurance industry has been a key priority. Incorporating Guangdong province’s manufacturing powerhouse, Hong Kong’s international financial centre, and top container ports in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, analysts said it was the ideal location to incubate the sector in China.

Click here to read the full story.