En medio de las recientes tensiones en Oriente Medio, la autoridad de seguros de Hong Kong ha respaldado un pool especial que proporciona coberturas de riesgo de guerra más baratas para buques chinos en el Golfo. Lanzado el pasado noviembre, el pool ahora cubre 10 buques chinos del continente y fortalece el rol de Hong Kong como centro regional de seguros marítimos. Los funcionarios enfatizan las ventajas de costo sobre los mercados de Londres.
Hong Kong está lista para desafiar el dominio de Londres en seguros marítimos a medida que las tensiones en Oriente Medio destacan la capacidad de la ciudad para proporcionar coberturas de riesgo de guerra a un costo menor, según el presidente del regulador local de seguros. Insurance Authority chairman Stephen Yiu Kin-wah said on Tuesday that the authority had supported insurers in launching a special war-risk insurance pool last November, which now covers 10 mainland Chinese ships sailing in the Gulf. The pool, backed by five Hong Kong insurers, offers up to US$130 million in compensation for shipowners in Hong Kong and the mainland against war and emergency risks. “The Middle East tensions in recent days have proven that the marine specialty risk pool is very much needed to provide insurance cover to shipowners,” Yiu said. “This is very important for Hong Kong to act as a marine insurance centre in the region, as it shows the city has the capacity to provide this type of cover.” Without such a pool, Chinese and Hong Kong shipowners could only turn to London for cover, Insurance Authority CEO Clement Cheung Wan-ching said, adding they would have been expected to pay more than in Hong Kong. “China owns one of the largest numbers of ships worldwide, while Hong Kong insurance companies are familiar with these Chinese companies and their business models,” Cheung said. “It is therefore Hong Kong’s role to provide marine insurance cover for these shipowners at a cheaper cost than overseas insurance markets.” This initiative underscores Hong Kong's advantages in understanding Chinese shipowners' operations and leverages Middle East tensions to demonstrate its insurance capabilities.