Insurance Authority welcomes Pilot Insurance-linked Securities Grant Scheme

24 February 2021

The Insurance Authority (IA) welcomes the Pilot Insurance-linked Securities Grant Scheme (Pilot ILS Grant Scheme) announced in the 2021-22 Budget today (24 February).

“The Pilot ILS Grant Scheme will attract insurance enterprises or organisations to issue insurance-linked securities (ILS) in Hong Kong,” said Dr Moses Cheng, Chairman of the IA. “Together with the new regulatory regime to be launched later this year, it will pave way for Hong Kong to become the preferred domicile for ILS, in particular catastrophe bonds. This will enhance the sustainable development of our insurance industry.”

The IA is preparing the implementation details of the new regulatory regime and will announce the details of the Pilot ILS Grant Scheme in due course, with a view to enabling the first ILS issuance in Hong Kong within this year.

As mentioned in the Budget, a series of legislative work has also been undertaken to provide for tax concessions and facilitate market development, thereby further consolidating Hong Kong’s status as an international insurance and risk management centre. Initiatives to develop green and sustainable finance have also been announced. The IA will continue to render its total support to policy measures which facilitate the insurance industry to capture business opportunities, and collaborate with industry stakeholders to promote the development of green insurance.

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