Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is set to enter the Malaysian reinsurance market, having received a license from Labuan FSA to provide non-life products in the country, through its Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSI) arm.
Berkshire Hathaway has been expanding steadily into Asian and Pacific insurance and reinsurance markets, as the firm seeks to diversify globally and source premiums from the faster growing markets of the world.
“After putting down roots in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau, we are pleased to further expand our operations in Asia and bring facultative reinsurance capacity and new products with the backing of our strong balance sheet to selected Malaysian insurance partners,” commented Marc Breuil, President of Asia at BHSI. “With the opening of our Malaysian office, we continue to deepen our underwriting and claims capabilities in the region.”
Now with license to sell reinsurance in Malaysia in hand, Berkshire Hathway has established an office in the capital Kuala Lumpur, naming Gaithrie Nandrajog as Branch Manager and Koo Kang Wuu as Executive & Professional Lines and Business Development Manager.
Through this Asian expansion Warren Buffett is laying a framework to provide its insurance and reinsurance products more widely into these markets, which is essential if the firm is to take advantage of economic and industrial growth in the region.
