On 22 September 2022, the Faculty of Finance of the City University of Macao held the Finance Seminar Series [2] Hengqin-Macao Cross-Border Finance Seminar at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. Cui Wangling, Vice President, Chief Actuary and Chief Risk Officer of Hengqin Life Insurance Co., Ltd. With 25 years of experience in the financial and insurance industry, was invited to deliver a speech titled “Insurance for Cross-Border Household Finance”. Guests attending this seminar include Dean Adrian Cheung and Associate Dean Eva Khong, City University of Macao.
To begin with, Vice President Cui introduced the development of the industry. The mainland insurance industry has gone through the initial stage of the germination of market-oriented entities and the rapid growth stage of basically forming a solidified market pattern. Taking 2017 as the turning point, the life insurance industry has undergone a comprehensive and proactive adjustment, and the insurance industry has officially entered the golden development period and the transition period of the smart era, with huge room for development. The insurance industry in the Greater Bay Area has obvious advantages in the development of the national insurance industry. The mainland and Greater Bay Area residents have a large demand for insurance products from Hong Kong and Macao. The major types of insurance purchased are critical illness insurance, whole life insurance and universal life insurance. In recent years, affected by the epidemic, the number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong has dropped, and mainland tourists have moved to Macao to purchase insurance, mainly for whole life insurance. In terms of financial development in the cooperation zone, Hengqin-Macao industrial linkage, innovation in cross-border finance, support for the real economy, promotion of interactive communication, financial risk prevention and control and other promotion measures, all have enabled the rapid development of the cooperation zone. Many financial reforms and innovations in the zone have also achieved the first breakthrough in the country and the province, forming a financial reform and innovation sample with Hengqin characteristics.
Vice President Cui introduced the development of Hengqin Life Insurance Co., Ltd.. Hengqin Life Insurance was established in 2016 and is located in Zhuhai Hengqin Free Trade Zone. Its main business scope includes life insurance and annuity insurance, health insurance, accident insurance, participating insurance, universal insurance, etc. Based on regulatory policies, market environment and resource endowments, forward-looking, differentiated and pragmatic development strategies have been formulated, including family accounts, partnership distribution networks and digital Hengqin. The three strategies complement each other and are positioned as the preferred insurance service platform for families. In terms of development opportunities, as the only life insurance legal entity registered in the cooperation zone, Hengqin Life Insurance actively explores regional innovative business, which not only has regional advantages, but also receives policy support such as the Overall Plan for the Construction of Guangdong Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. In addition to building a family life cycle product service system, Hengqin Life Insurance also provides dynamic service solutions covering health management, quality life, parenting education and travel services to meet the differentiated quality life needs of customers' families in a value-added way.
Vice President Cui proposed the research on cross-border family finance. Family finance covers sociology, economics, finance, demography, management, law, taxation and other disciplines, while cross-border finance is an important area of exploration for the construction of the In-Depth Cooperation Zone and the Greater Bay Area. Cross-border family finance studies how families can manage their assets and liabilities well, rationally use financial tools, and achieve the accumulation and inheritance of family wealth from the perspective of family micro and cross-border family finance. In terms of family finance, S&P's family asset allocation is mainly divided into four aspects: short-term consumption, accident and serious illness protection, investment, and pension and education, which can respectively point to five corresponding accounts: reserve fund, insurance protection, large expenditure, pension and education funds. In terms of cross-border finance, insurance products and services provide opportunities for the innovative development of cross-border finance due to policy dividends. With the permission of regulatory policies, possible future innovation directions include cross-border insurance fund exchange facilitation, establishment of cross-border insurance links, joint development of insurance products and long-term foreign currency life insurance. Cross-border family finance is family-centered and an integrated solution that focuses on the needs of the entire life cycle of customers' families.
Vice President Cui mentioned that Hengqin Life Insurance has innovatively launched the "family insurance account" protection model, and has accumulated more than 1.6 million family accounts. He hoped that relying on the practical experience accumulated in insurance integration innovation and customer service in Hong Kong and Macao, he would join hands with the doctoral students from the Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau, to jointly initiate and promote the forward-looking research on cross-border family finance with insurance as the key entry. It is a possible research field and direction to set up family accounts for families, operate "families" as "enterprises", and provide integrated risk management plans for family financial risks, wealth risks, health risks, pension risks, etc. through rational planning and management of family's broad assets, liabilities, income and cash flow, so as to implement the inheritance and extension of family wealth and spirit across the cycle.
At the end of the sharing session, the students took this valuable opportunity to actively pose questions related to the research directions. Vice President Cui answered in detail and said that he looked forward to conducting more in-depth research on topics related to cross-border finance and cross-border insurance. There are two categories of suitable research topics: (1) Cross-border financial development, (2) Discussion on cross-border insurance. In the Seminar, students paid attention to the cross-border policies and future prospects of Hengqin and Macao, and better prepare for their incoming research projects.