MEF-Minister's Page-Speeches 2005

Kingdom of Cambodia

Nation Religion King

Opening remarks by

Sr. Minister KEAT CHHON,
MP Minister of Economy and Finance

at the opening of

The ASEAN Insurance Congress,
Joint AIRM, AIC, COB, ARES and ATI/AIEC Meetings

Siem Reap, 29 November 2005

Mr. Chairman of ASEAN Insurance Regulators,
Mr. Chairman of Council of Bureau,
Mr. Chairman of ASEAN Insurance Council,
Representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat,
Distinguished Speakers,
Panelists and Delegates of the ASEAN Insurance Congress,
Colleagues from the Royal Government of Cambodia,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I would like to welcome you all to the Land of Angkor. I would also like to extend my warmest greetings to all of you upon the opening of the ASEAN Insurance Congress, and The Joint AIRM, AIC, COB, ARES & ATI/AIEC Meetings in Siem Reap, the city that is surrounded by the soaring monuments and exquisite bas reliefs of Bayon and Angkor Wat, which rank among the wonders of the World.

I hope you will find time to savor some of the sights and sounds of Angkor, our former capital, one of the greatest achievements of art and architecture in human history. Angkor was built at the peak period of splendor and glory in Cambodia's history. Our ancestors knew how wisely to use the then state of the art technology in architecture, urban planning, agriculture and infrastructure. Today the jungle, monuments and human beings live in perfect harmony here.

Cambodia is proud to host the fifth ASEAN Insurance Congress which provides us an occasion to introduce our small and young insurance industry to the region as well as the world insurance market. We have gathered key speakers, businessmen and government officials in insurance industry within and outside of the region to share their expertise and exchange views towards further liberalization of insurance services in ASEAN.

Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen!

A number of events have shaped the insurance industry worldwide. I am talking about globalization, liberalization of insurance services, but more importantly terrorism and natural disasters that have become more frequent, partly due to the global climate change. In our region, the word Tsunami has added to the day-to-day jargon of insurers and reinsurers. What happen in other parts of the world has significantly impacted on our region. ASEAN has responded to these developments with new initiatives in the areas of insurance.

In Vientiane, Lao PDR, last year the ASEAN Finance Ministers signed the protocol to conclude the fourth round of negotiation for insurance sector under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) resulted in the formulation of new guidelines for the industry. Under these guidelines, the ASEAN minus X formula is used where Member countries that are ready can start negotiation among themselves. Even though the other Protocols relating to Services have remained unsigned, the implementation of Protocol 5 on insurance has been progressively carried out and moved forward.

During the recent meetings of ASEAN Insurance Regulators, colleagues from Member countries have been working tirelessly towards harmonization of insurance laws. We realize that even though achieving the harmonization of insurance laws of ten different countries will be difficult, but it will have tremendous effect on market confidence and will generate positive affect for the region as a whole.

Moreover, we have made substantial progress in adhering to the new 28 International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) principles based on which Member countries have been conducting a self- assessment of the adequacy of their insurance systems. Cambodia has already reported the outcome of its self assessment that a few provisions of the country’s insurance law have to be revised to incorporate more fully the IAIS core principles.

I note with satisfaction that the Protocol 5 has been progressively implemented by member countries to establish their respective National Bureau on Insurance and to finalize the Blue Card to be used in the region. In this regard, Cambodia has recently set up the National Bureau under the Department of Financial Industry of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Also, the Ministry has approved the format and contents of Blue Card and it is being operationalized.

We have to recognize that the progress made under the framework of ASEAN Insurance Regulators is significantly supported by ASEAN Insurance Training and Research Institute (AITRI) which has played an important role in training insurance regulators and supervisors of member countries. So far the AITRI has done a very god job and shown strong commitment in producing punctually the semiannual reports for the Regulators meeting.

Cambodia has also taken strides to develop the insurance industry. To guide its development, the Royal Government of Cambodia adopted in August 2001 the «Vision and Financial Sector Development Plan for 2001-2010», which envisages the development of, among others, a sound insurance sector that protects businesses and individuals from catastrophic events which provide capital for long-term investment in the real sector. As Multilateral Development Bank which its unique regional sensitivity, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is our good partner in implementing this Financial Sector Development Plan.

Our priorities at this stage will focus on strengthening the insurance regulation and supervision framework. We have worked on the amendment of the Law of Insurance, which will be harmonized with the regional Insurance Law, to provide adequate regulatory and supervisory process and address the increased diversity of insurance products, especially life insurance. We will work further to professionalize the insurance sector by training more industry professionals. We plan to develop life insurance in the near future.

I hope that all of you will be able to continue supporting Cambodia’s insurance industry. I would like to take this opportunity to thank ASEAN regulators, representatives of insurance and reinsurance companies for providing support and capacity to Cambodia in the past. I am confident that you will do in the future.

Finally, I would like to thank you for giving me the privilege to declare open "the 5^th ASEAN Insurance Congress”. I wish all of you every success in your deliberations as well as a pleasant and memorable stay in Siem Reap.

I thank you for your kind attention!