Australian insurance broker looks at Lao, Burma markets

ADELAIDE – The South Australian-headquartered national insurance broking firm MGA Insurance Brokers is looking to expand into Laos and Myanmar within the next 12 months, following strong growth of the firm’s office in Phnom Penh, which opened in late 2013.

MGA’s Managing Director, Paul George, says the firm’s Cambodian business has grown steadily and is expected to be profitable within the next 12 months, slightly ahead of schedule.

“As economic conditions improve in Cambodia, we expect the business to grow rapidly,” he said, adding that negotiations with Laotian regulatory authorities are at an advanced stage.

“We are hopeful that we will be in a position to open in Vientiane in the coming months, using a similar model to that in Cambodia, where we partnered with two local brokers,” he said.

“Negotiations with authorities in Myanmar are at an early stage, but are looking positive.”

George said the decision to look at the emerging countries in South East Asia rather than established markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong had been a strategic one.
 “While we would like to be involved in Hong Kong and Singapore, they are mature markets that are difficult to break into, and we have been unable to find the right people to work with,” he said.
“Countries like Myanmar and Laos are still developing, but have a number of economic zones that are attracting foreign capital.”
 MGA is one of the largest privately owned insurance brokers in Australia, with 40 metropolitan and regional locations in all mainland States.  www.mga.com (ATI).