On July 7, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), in collaboration with the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, jointly issued a series of measures aimed at accelerating the development of Shanghai as an international reinsurance center.

The core components of these measures encompass guiding institutional positioning to foster the concentration of market elements. The plan involves optimizing the layout of institutions to facilitate the smooth flow and efficient allocation of various factors within the Lingang New Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Large enterprises are encouraged to centrally manage their risk protection needs within the Lingang New Area, promoting precise matching between risks and underwriting capacity. Leveraging the policy advantages of the Lingang New Area, the measures support insurance institutions in strengthening cooperation and exchanges to expedite the construction of a reinsurance market ecosystem.

Enhancing Capacity Supply and Deepening Reform and Opening-Up

The measures endorse reinsurance institutions in increasing capital and issuing supplementary capital instruments. They guide the insurance industry to aggregate underwriting capacity around national major project construction and strategic emerging industries. Support is also provided for reinsurance institutions to assist the insurance sector in risk reduction services.

Exploration into broadening the channels for dispersing special risks, such as catastrophe risks, is encouraged. Insurance institutions are supported in opening dedicated accounts within the Lingang New Area to make good use of relevant overseas investment facilitation policies. Data security management policies are to be implemented, with operational guidelines for reinsurance data outbound transfers being updated to optimize cross-border data services.

Accelerating Platform Development and Improving Data Integration

The measures call for domestic insurance institutions to uniformly register reinsurance contracts and claims information at the Reinsurance Registration and Trading Center. Support is given to the Center to further refine data registration standards, implement data classification and tiered management, and strengthen data governance and security confidentiality management in accordance with laws and regulations.

Deepening data application is emphasized, with research into insurance risk and credit risk across various scenarios to empower professional capacity building in areas like risk management for China's insurance industry.

Fostering Cross-Border Collaboration and International Influence

Building on the Lingang New Area's advantages in cross-border activities, the measures aim to attract insurance institutions to expand into more incremental markets and enhance management capabilities for cross-border inbound reinsurance business. Insurance institutions are supported in introducing cutting-edge risk modeling and underwriting expertise to cultivate core technologies.

The international reinsurance consultation mechanism will be improved, creating a platform to pool global wisdom and serve as a window for expanding opening-up. This will facilitate the timely showcasing of Shanghai's progress in building an international reinsurance center and continuously enhance its international influence.

Strengthening Regulatory Effectiveness and Optimizing the Development Environment

The measures reinforce the primary responsibility of insurance institutions, urging them to establish sound internal control and compliance management systems. The regulatory effectiveness of the NFRA is to be strengthened, with prudent regulatory rules in the reinsurance sector being refined.

Support is provided for the Shanghai Financial Regulatory Bureau to research and establish a monitoring system commensurate with reinsurance risks. The auxiliary regulatory functions of the Reinsurance Registration and Trading Center will be leveraged to improve the quality and efficiency of reinsurance supervision.

Shanghai is encouraged to further optimize institutional incentive policies and refine exclusive talent policies. Exploration into establishing a reinsurance arbitration mechanism within the Lingang New Area is also part of the plan.

Moving forward, the NFRA and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government will continuously monitor the implementation effectiveness of these measures, improve policy support, strengthen regulatory efficacy, and steadily advance the high-quality development of Shanghai as an international financial center and reinsurance hub, contributing to the building of a financially strong nation.