Full Capacity: Gift City gold rush

February 28 2026 by

Welcome to Full Capacity, a weekly briefing on all the most important developments of the past week with a personal take on the news from our editor-in-chief, Mithun Varkey, delivered to your inbox every Saturday.   

IAN exclusive. Liberty has tapped AIG’s Cynthia Sze as the chief executive for its combined Hong Kong unit, InsuranceAsia News revealed exclusively. Sze, who is currently the CEO of AIG Hong Kong and Macau, will start in the new role at Liberty from May. 

Leadership change. Gallagher Re has reshuffled its APAC leadership with the appointment of Roshan Perera as APAC head, succeeding Mark O’Brien, who is leaving the business, and Richard Jones as chairman taking over from Mark Morley, who is retiring. 

Partnering up: PartnerRe has become the latest international reinsurer to set up in India’s Gift City. The Bermudian reinsurer received regulatory approval from the special economic zone to open a branch. Asia CEO James Beedle will have executive oversight of the new branch, the reinsurer told InsuranceAsia News. 

ILS regime. The Hong Kong government has extended the pilot insurance-linked securities grant scheme to 2028, financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in Wednesday’s 2026-27 budget. Chan also confirmed the Programme to Enhance Talent Training for the Insurance Sector would be extended for three years to “enhance the professional competency of insurance practitioners”. 

Passing the baton. Steadfast CEO and managing director Robert Kelly has announced his intention to retire from the Australian broker, with a new CEO set to be in place by the release of the FY26 results in August as part of a leadership transition plan. Kelly, who co-founded Steadfast Group in 1996, will remain on the board after his retirement and transition to a non-executive director role  

A wedge in the market

India’s regulatory framework for reinsurance was meant to strengthen domestic capacity and build a robust local hub.  

Instead, it has driven a steady migration of reinsurers towards Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or Gift City, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that’s quickly becoming the preferred route around a set of cumbersome regulations. 

In recent months, Gift City has seen an extraordinary influx of reinsurance entrants.  

Three new players opened offices in the financial enclave just this month, pushing the tally to around 14 licensed entities, and several more are in the process of getting a licence, ahead of India’s April 1 renewal deadline. 

A source at the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) told InsuranceAsia News that number of reinsurers in the special economic zone will swell to 25 before the fiscal year ends.  

Gift City’s appeal has surged since the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) tightened its compliance norms on cross-border reinsurers. 

The IRDAI’s revamped “order of preference” framework was designed to maximise domestic retention.  

India’s reinsurance market is one of the fastest-growing in the world. Data from the IRDAI showed the Indian reinsurance market expanded 11% in FY24–25 to INR1.12 trillion (US$12.3 billion), and just under of 40% of this premium was placed with 291 cross-border reinsurers.  

Now, given the size of the premium pool and the growth of the market, the regulator’s ambition to retain more of this premium locally is sound.  

The order of preference obliges Indian cedents to prioritise placements first with local reinsurers (category 1) and then with category 2 players, which include IFSC insurance offices (IIOs), or the Gift City branches, and foreign reinsurer branches (FRBs). Only after exhausting these options can they turn to cross-border reinsurers.  

This hierarchy effectively pushes offshore capacity down the pecking order. 

By bringing IIOs on par with FRBs, foreign reinsurers can establish an onshore presence without the compliance costs and capital requirements that now come with mainland registration. 

Gift City’s lighter-touch regime, regulated by the IFSCA, easier capital movement, and tax holidays make it an obvious alternative despite issues such as higher currency hedging costs. 

In short, the regulator has built a fence around the Indian market and Gift City is the unlocked gate.  

And as more global reinsurers find sanctuary in Gift City, the centre of gravity in Indian reinsurance could drift away from IRDAI’s direct oversight.  

For some, it’s a chance to make hay or to make way. 

People moves

Everest promoted Tomi Latva-Kiskola to chief executive for global wholesale and specialty in Asia Pacific.  

WTW named Han Wei Fong as its new country leader for Singapore. 

P&I club Britannia Group appointed NorthStandard veteran David Roberts as its new regional head of Asia. 

Marsh appointed Noelene Palmer as its new COO. 

Do check out our weekly people move round-up to stay up to speed on the most important appointments in the region. 

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