HONG KONG, April 1 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” to Taiping Reinsurance (China) Company Ltd. (TPRe (China)) (China). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable. TPRe (China) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Taiping Reinsurance Company Limited (TPRe).
                              
The ratings reflect the strategic importance of TPRe (China) to TPRe, TPRe (China)’s adequate standalone balance sheet strength based on the business plan projection provided to A.M. Best, management’s solid experience in China’s domestic market, and the average but catastrophe-sensitive historical operating performance that TPRe’s Beijing branch has achieved over the past five years.
 
A.M. Best expects China business to continue to contribute significantly to TPRe’s premium revenues in the medium term; this market’s potential growth is critical to TPRe in terms of business profile and ongoing operating profitability. The assigned ratings also recognize the explicit support demonstrated by a guarantee letter that TPRe provided to TPRe (China).
 
The China Insurance Regulatory Commission granted TPRe (China) a license on Nov. 18, 2015 to underwrite non-life and life reinsurance business with registered capital of CNY 1 billion. The newly formed subsidiary has assumed the business and functions previously performed by the Beijing branch of TPRe, which has been in operation since 2008. TPRe (China) acquired the assets and liabilities of TPRe’s Beijing branch on Jan. 1, 2016. In addition to its strategic importance, the high level of integration with TPRe is expected to continue to apply to TPRe (China), including shared branding and the core functions of underwriting, pricing, reserving, reinsurance and risk management.
 
Positive rating actions are not likely in the short term, while negative rating actions may occur if TPRe’s rating is downgraded, or if A.M. Best views TPRe (China)’s level of importance to TPRe as having diminished materially.
 
Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.
 
This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page.
 
A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.
 
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Contacts
A.M. Best
Ken Chow
Senior Financial Analyst
+852 2827 3426
ken.chow@ambest.com
or
Moungmo Lee
Managing Director, Analytics
+65 6589 8412, ext. 210
moungmo.lee@ambest.com
or
Christopher Sharkey
Manager, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com
or
Jim Peavy
Assistant Vice President, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644
james.peavy@ambest.com
 
Source: A.M. Best
 
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--BERNAMA