Dai-ichi Life has opened an office in Myanmar as the giant insurer continues its expansion throughout the APAC region.

The Japanese insurer has opened a representative office in the rapidly developing country with permission granted by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration earlier this year, according to The Nikkei.

The firm has pinpointed the Mekong region as an area for further development, having opened an office in Cambodia last year, as it looks to firm up its business in light of a shrinking domestic market.

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State-owned Myanma Insurance has long enjoyed a monopoly on the insurance sector in Myanmar but 12 new domestic companies were licensed in 2012, including three life insurers.

Currently, the Myanmar government does not allow foreign insurers to offer products and services outside of the Thilawa special economic zone.

However, more liberalisation of the industry is expected over the coming years as the government opens the doors of its insurance industry to outside firms.

Dai-ichi is now the second Japanese insurer to open an office in the country following Taiyo Life insurance, which opened its branch in 2012.


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