150 ZJ Taylor
conference presentations and interviews, re/insurers argue that the combination of growing regional climate risk and high economic growth has yet to
be matched by the rate of property re/insurance market take-up, suggesting
an array of underwriting opportunities on the horizon (Monetary Authority
of Singapore 2019; 2020). In this context, efforts to expand the Singapore
centre may be seen as one of several broader state, multi-lateral, and financial market institutional manoeuvres to extend re/insurance underwriting
across Asia. At the same time, the ongoing rise of an Asian investor class is
seen to represent a vast pool of regional capital that could be deployed as re/
insurance capacity through instruments like ILS. Singapore’s re/insurance
proponents have sought to meld these elements by expanding the offering
of products and services available, including ILS issuance and investment
management (Interview 2019-B). One Singapore-based reinsurance executive hypothesised that the ultimate aim of Singapore’s market-makers was
not to rival London or Bermuda in scale, but instead to provide high valueadded financial solutions for specialist regional underwriting and investment needs. The executive thus likened the Singapore ILS strategy to a
private jet, one able to seat only a handful of precious customers, and with
each issuance representing one such seat on the jet (Interview 2019-C).
The development of ILS markets also arguably advances a second political economic agenda for the city-state, one rooted in securing regional
stability through catastrophe risk finance. Singapore’s economic development strategy has long been informed by recognition of the city-state’s
precarious geographical position. While this may be acutely true in the
case of finance – neighbouring Hong Kong has also set out to develop an
offshore ILS hub (Lim et al. 2020) – it also broadly applies to the future
of the resource-constrained island nation. Singapore relies on neighbouring nations for many essential inputs, including water, food, and labour.
The expansion of Singapore’s advanced producer services economy also
hinges on the continued political and economic stability of neighbouring
countries, given that a significant share of regional economic activities and
investments are underwritten by Singaporean enterprises or coordinated by
Singapore-based financial institutions (Olds & Yeung 2004). In this context,
the economic regionalisation goals of Singapore are intimately linked with
anxieties about state security (Lee 2001; compare with Grove 2012).
The expansion of Singapore’s re/insurance centre aims to sustain these
transnational and intra-regional ties in the face of catastrophic disruption due
to climate risk. Parallel to efforts to draw ILS issuance and investment through
Singapore, the state and re/insurance institutions have co- sponsored research
on regional catastrophe risk modelling at Singapore universities (Interview
2020-D). At the same time, the Singapore government is a host of (and investor
in) the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF), a World
Bank-driven sovereign risk pool which aims to raise risk capital on behalf
of ASEAN nations without established retail insurance markets. The opportunistic decision to grow Singapore’s catastrophe re/insurance capacities by
conference presentations and interviews, re/insurers argue that the combination of growing regional climate risk and high economic growth has yet to
be matched by the rate of property re/insurance market take-up, suggesting
an array of underwriting opportunities on the horizon (Monetary Authority
of Singapore 2019; 2020). In this context, efforts to expand the Singapore
centre may be seen as one of several broader state, multi-lateral, and financial market institutional manoeuvres to extend re/insurance underwriting
across Asia. At the same time, the ongoing rise of an Asian investor class is
seen to represent a vast pool of regional capital that could be deployed as re/
insurance capacity through instruments like ILS. Singapore’s re/insurance
proponents have sought to meld these elements by expanding the offering
of products and services available, including ILS issuance and investment
management (Interview 2019-B). One Singapore-based reinsurance executive hypothesised that the ultimate aim of Singapore’s market-makers was
not to rival London or Bermuda in scale, but instead to provide high valueadded financial solutions for specialist regional underwriting and investment needs. The executive thus likened the Singapore ILS strategy to a
private jet, one able to seat only a handful of precious customers, and with
each issuance representing one such seat on the jet (Interview 2019-C).
The development of ILS markets also arguably advances a second political economic agenda for the city-state, one rooted in securing regional
stability through catastrophe risk finance. Singapore’s economic development strategy has long been informed by recognition of the city-state’s
precarious geographical position. While this may be acutely true in the
case of finance – neighbouring Hong Kong has also set out to develop an
offshore ILS hub (Lim et al. 2020) – it also broadly applies to the future
of the resource-constrained island nation. Singapore relies on neighbouring nations for many essential inputs, including water, food, and labour.
The expansion of Singapore’s advanced producer services economy also
hinges on the continued political and economic stability of neighbouring
countries, given that a significant share of regional economic activities and
investments are underwritten by Singaporean enterprises or coordinated by
Singapore-based financial institutions (Olds & Yeung 2004). In this context,
the economic regionalisation goals of Singapore are intimately linked with
anxieties about state security (Lee 2001; compare with Grove 2012).
The expansion of Singapore’s re/insurance centre aims to sustain these
transnational and intra-regional ties in the face of catastrophic disruption due
to climate risk. Parallel to efforts to draw ILS issuance and investment through
Singapore, the state and re/insurance institutions have co- sponsored research
on regional catastrophe risk modelling at Singapore universities (Interview
2020-D). At the same time, the Singapore government is a host of (and investor
in) the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF), a World
Bank-driven sovereign risk pool which aims to raise risk capital on behalf
of ASEAN nations without established retail insurance markets. The opportunistic decision to grow Singapore’s catastrophe re/insurance capacities by