Life Insurance in China
How to Strategically Evaluate ChinaPerhaps the most efficient way of evaluating China is to consider key dimensions which themselves are composites of multiple factors. Composite portfolio approaches have long been used by strategic planners. The biggest challenge in this approach is to choose the appropriate factors that are the most relevant to international planning. The two measures of greatest relevance to life insurance are “latent demand” and “market accessibility”. The figure below summarizes the key dimensions and recommendations of such an approach. Using these two composites, one can prioritize all countries of the world. Countries of high latent demand and high relative accessibility (e.g. easier entry for one firm compared to other firms) are given highest priority. The figure below shows two different scenarios. Accessibility is defined as a firm’s ease of entering or supplying from or to a market (the “supply side”), and latent demand is an indicator of the potential in serving from or to the market (the “demand side”).Framework for Prioritizing CountriesDemand/Market Potential Driven FirmRelative AccessibilityAccessibility/Supply Averse FirmIn the top figure, the firm is driven by market potential, whereas the bottom figure represents a firm that is driven by costs or by an aversion to difficult markets. This report treats the reader as coming from a “generic firm” approaching the global market – neither a market-driven nor a cost-driven company. Planners must therefore augment this report with their own company-specific factors that might change the priorities (e.g. a Canadian firm may have higher accessibility in Canada than a German firm).Latent Demand and Accessibility in ChinaThis report provides a detailed overview of factors driving latent demand and accessibility for life insurance in China. Latent demand is largely driven by economic fundamentals specific to life insurance. This topic is discussed in Chapter 2 using work carried out in China on behalf of American firms and authored by the United States government (typically commercial attachés or similar persons in local offices of the U.S. Department of State). I have included a number of edits to clarify the information provided. Latent demand only represents half of the picture. Chapter 2 also deals with micro-accessibility for life insurance in China. I use the term “micro” since the discussion is focused specifically on life insurance.Chapter 3 is also a stand-alone report that I have authored. It covers proxy pro-forma financial indicators of firms operating in China. I use the word “proxy” because the provided figures only cover a “what if” scenario, based on actual operating results for firms in China. The numbers are only indicative of an average firm whose primary activity is in China. It