The life insurance industry in China has experienced rapid growth and profound structural changes since the 1980s. Very much an intellectual topic indeed, the growth of the life insurance industry has received much academic attention from the economic and business perspectives. However, most if not all of the research conducted to date has been in the examination of the underlying reasons for the growth of the industry, while the comparison has been made usually on the national level. This research aims to contribute to a better understanding of the spatial distribution of the life insurance industry, an area in which most geographers are passionate. Acknowledging that market forces are major determinants of the growth of the life insurance industry, this dissertation strives to identify the pertinent spatial patterns and offer possible explanations of their variation among different China’s regions. This thesis starts with a critical evaluation of the underlying reasons of the spatial demand for life insurance in post-reform China from 1999 to 2008. What follows is an investigation of the spatial behavior on the life insurers who are the service suppliers in response to the operating and regulatory environment. An empirical study of China’s three macro-regions is then conducted. Multiple regression and ANOVA analysis using the respective macro-economic and insurance data of the studied regions have been employed for hypothesis testing. Three research findings confirmed are statistically significant; first, the growth of the life insurance industry is positively correlated with the level of economic development of a region; second, a life insurer’s market share is positively correlated with its business infrastructure; and third, the institutional and regulatory environment has a direct and positive impact on the growth of a life insurer, as testified by the two case studies of a domestic and a foreign life insurer. The research findings underscore the importance of both the market forces and the visible hand in determining the spatial development of China’s life insurance industry. Hopefully this study can shed some light on this research matter: for academicians and regional scientists alike to appreciate the contributing factors of the spatial distribution and variations of life insurance among different China regions; for business practitioners to appraise the underlying components of insurance supply and the relevant spatial attributes for office locations and expansion; and lastly for government officials and policy-makers to cross-question the merits of the current regulations in shaping the current life insurance landscape, and to devise the pertinent measures to alleviate the regional difference, if the approach of balanced development growth for the life insurance industry is the ultimate goal. / published_or_final_version / China Development Studies / Master / Master of Arts in China Development Studies

Chan Mei-yuk, Daisy, Fung Sek-yung. / Bibliography: leaves [82]-86 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

by Lee Kam Hon. / Summary in Chinese on endpapers. / Thesis (M.Comm.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1969. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

by Chui Pui-Wah, Wong Wing-Ho, Wu Xiujuan. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-89). / Questionnaires in Chinese. / ABSTRACT / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES / TABLE OF CONTENTS / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.6 / Primary Research --- p.6 / Exploratory Study --- p.6 / On-site Interview --- p.7 / Questionnaire --- p.7 / Secondary Research --- p.10 / Limitations --- p.11 / Chapter III. --- COMPANY BACKGROUND AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS --- p.12 / Company Background --- p.12 / Life Insurance Market Environment in China --- p.14 / Strong Economic Growth --- p.14 / Economic Reform Creates Needs for Private Insurance --- p.15 / Opportunities for Foreign Life Insurer upon China's WTO Accession --- p.16 / Future Development of life Insurance in China --- p.22 / Nanjing ´ؤ An Attractive Market for AIA --- p.24 / Chapter IV. --- AIA IN THE MAINLAND CHINA --- p.27 / Business Expansion --- p.27 / Market Share --- p.28 / Promotion by Building Good Will --- p.29 / New Concepts brought to China Insurance Market --- p.30 / Problems Faced --- p.30 / Chapter V. --- DATA ANALYSIS --- p.32 / Demographics --- p.32 / General Findings --- p.35 / Consumer Behavior Analysis --- p.40 / AIA and its rivals --- p.45 / Further Findings Tested by Null Hypothesis --- p.54 / Conclusions --- p.58 / Chapter VI. --- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AIA --- p.61 / Target Customers --- p.62 / Product --- p.62 / Pricing --- p.64 / Promotion --- p.65 / Distribution --- p.67 / Chapter VII. --- APPENDIX --- p.69 / Chapter VIII. --- BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.88

by Li Yuet Fu. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987.

The key objective of insurance company on money management is asset liability management, as policy asset is solely for paying policy liability. It is true whether it is in case of life insurance, general insurance, or reinsurance. The difficulty of achieving such objective is that the exact cash flow and the exact duration of policy liability are unknown ex ante that requires the asset manager's a good quantitative, financial skill. What is worse is that the variations of cash flow and duration can be huge that is demanding on the asset manager's quantitative, financial skill. Quantitative problem is difficult but qualitative problem can be even more difficult. The specialist problem in insurance industry, which is also known as agency problem in information economics, is notorious. It is because a specialist may no longer work for the insurance company when the long term liability is due and the existing liability portfolio is always composed of myriad policies liability. / The purpose of this thesis is to try to provide solutions to three critical problems in insurance industry. (1) China is the most booming country for insurance at the moment. So, it is selected for discussing about the most difficult problem in modern finance---specialist problem. A structural approach is devised in this thesis to solve such problem. The solution can be generalized to all countries. (2) As many people argue about that modern finance is inapplicable to emerging market, such as China, especially when there are capital account and currency controls, the bond market of China is selected to provide evidence that modern finance is applicable to emerging market even both the capital account and the currency of the country are controlled by the government. (3) The last part of this thesis provides a breakthrough solution to price insurer default option, an embedded option, in insurance company using observable credit default swap price, as the traditional approach needs statistical assumption that is subjective. / Li, Wing Ping Desmond. / Adviser: Frank Youhua Chen. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: 2169. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-65). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.