HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Edwin Northover, Jan Buschmann and Tony Dymond, Debevoise & Plimpton
Re-Domiciliation Mechanism Legislative changes permitting the re-domiciliation of insurers (and other companies) to Hong Kong came into effect in May 2025. In relation to insurers, the general rules in the Companies Ordinance are supple- mented by a specific regulatory process and guidance issued by the IA. This mechanism will be particularly relevant to Bermuda-incorporated insurers that write all or a majority of their business in Hong Kong. As such, a number of large international insurance groups are already using the new re-domiciliation mechanism for the re-domiciliation of the Hong Kong branches of their Bermuda subsidiaries.
Further amendments were made to the Insurance Ordinance in 2025 to allow foreign-incorporated insur- ers to re-domicile to Hong Kong (see Re-Domicilia- tion Mechanism below). Cross-Border Regimes and ILS The proposed cross-border insurance regimes for the Greater Bay Area referred to in 2.1 Insurance and Reinsurance Regulatory Bodies and Legislative Guidance and the recently established ILS regime set out in 7.1 ART Transactions are key recent market developments. Policyholders’ Protection Fund Following several consultations regarding the estab- lishment of a Policyholders’ Protection Fund (PPF), the Hong Kong government is considering legislation needed for such a PPF. The fund will consist of two schemes, one for life and one for general insurance, and will be available to pay claims in the event of an insurer’s insolvency. There are existing compensation funds in relation to motor and employees’ compen- sation insurance, which will be carved out from the new PPF.
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