Updates

Chairman's interview with leading reinsurance magazine Asian Insurance Review

Here are the contents of the interview with our Chairman, Mr Jeremy Camps, by the Asian Insurance Review:

What are the major achievements of LIIA since it was established in 1998?

The LIIA is a broad organization representing principally reinsurance brokers, reinsurers, captive managers and offshore reinsurance managers.  Our achievements have centred around meeting as a regular forum together by providing consultations to the authorities on a host of issues that focus not only on establishing Labuan as an international financial centre but also for the long-term development of Labuan as a place of importance.  We have provided consultations to the Labuan Corporation for example on major issues such as educational progress and infrastructure development.  The LIIA frequently and strongly recommends members to participate in all matters of significance such as providing awards to the educational community and playing a major role in developing the social life of Labuan.  We have also provided input on legislative and tax matters to the authorities and I must say, that the authorities frequently consult us on a range of issues that would have an impact on our operations and they do take our views very seriously.

What have been the major challenges?

The major challenges to the LIIA appear to be in positioning Labuan as a major international insurance reinsurance centre.  Competing with the likes of Burmuda and London does require a profile that would take time to bear fruit.  We must also ensure that we complement the business activity and the philosophy of the regulatory authorities of the capical cities in the Afro-Asian region as each environment has its own share of demands.  There is a need to convince the authorities and the players out of Labuan that ours is a far more sophisticated environment than is sometimes generally imagined.  We have major international names registered in Labuan and these multinational players take a very serious perspective of Labuan within the present and future global financial architecture.  Labuan must be seen to be more than an alternative financial centre by the less informed.  However, I must also emphasize that the role of Labuan as an insurance/reinsurance centre is really to complement the domestic economies of most environments rather than compete head-on with them.  Labuan is designed as a centre for serious players and our major efforts as an Association include convincing serious global players to put their banner on Labuan.  Domestic insurance regimes should not yield to undue protection if they expect to survive in this millennium.

What are LIIA’s priorities in the coming year?

LIIA’s priorities include building up the strength of Labuan as a major insurance/reinsurance centre.  Whilst the global reinsurance markets are going through a round of softening in prices, this can only auger well for a centre like Labuan where operating costs are comparatively realistic.  Labuan …  as an IOFC has been on the statute books for about fifteen years now and during this time, the local authorities have adopted a host of measures to ensure that it provides every conceivable requirement for serious players.  The insurance/regulatory environment is one of the more flexible regimes in the international insurance/reinsurance community and pragmatic enough for professional players.  What the LIIA plans to do is impart this across to the markets that its members operate within.  We need to impress on our markets that Labuan has the potential to have a diversified product range and to be able to develop and market these products out of Labuan.  You may be aware that Labuan has an international financial exchange and we as an Association need to see how this could proceed with some assistance from us.  The other financial services have in a modest way taken advantage of the opportunities to start attracting funds to the exchange.  We hope that we would see a few of the members take up their listings in the Labuan Financial Exchange (LFX) in the near future.

What are LIIA's opinions on Labuan as a financial centre and how have your members benefited?

I would summarize this as follows:

• Cost-effective
• Pragmatic regulatory regime
• Flexible  business environment
• Reasonably adequate infrastructure on the whole – I don’t have water delivered in tankers as I would likely experience in the Caribbean and I don’t have to drive my car on alternate days on narrow roads for example.
• Fairly well-developed air networks to the major air routes as is common with other offshore financial centres.
• Competitive tax structure.

What more could I add?

How have LIIA and LOFSA worked together?

I would (if I be permitted to say so) venture to suggest that we have worked quite well with LOFSA because we’re equally serious about Labuan as an insurance/reinsurance centre.  We like LOFSA, have a very important agenda and we do not want Labuan left out of the international map with the present global race to compete effectively.  The direction for Labuan to be a sound, competitive and pragmatic business environment is something we share with  LOFSA and are intent on making it work on our side.