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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HONG KONG - MARCH 26, 2015 09:15 AM (EDT)
A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of "a" of China Taiping Insurance (Macau) Co., Ltd. (CTIM) (Macau). The outlook for both ratings remains stable.
The rating affirmations reflect CTIM's strong operating performance and business profile in the Macau non-life market, as well as supportive risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). CTIM has demonstrated a favorable track record of profitable underwriting and investment results. The performance was mainly driven by a more stable trend in net loss ratio compared to its local peers, which reflected the company's strategy of profitable business growth, product diversification and its claims management capability. Going forward, it is expected that CTIM's premium generation will continue to benefit from its balanced distribution across banks, agents, brokers and direct channels, as well as established relationships with mainland China enterprises.
Partially offsetting rating factors include the potential volatility on its operating results due to market value movements in the company's investments in mutual funds, equities and corporate bonds.
While positive rating actions are unlikely in the short term, negative rating pressure could arise if CTIM's risk-adjusted capitalization (for example, a larger than expected dividend payout) or operating results were to materially deteriorate (for example, due to a major investment loss).
The methodology used in determining these interactive ratings is Best's Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best's Credit Rating Methodology can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.
Key insurance criteria reports utilized:
Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication, and unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.
This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please visit A.M. Best's Ratings & Criteria Center.
A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.