SF Holding Secures Hong Kong Captive Insurance License: Why Is the Logistics Giant Customizing "Internal Insurance" in Hong Kong?

Logistics giant SF Holding makes another move in the financial sector.

On July 8, the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong announced that it had granted authorization to "SF Insurance Limited," established by SF Holding Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Shenzhen, SF Holding is a major global logistics service provider.

This brings the total number of captive insurance companies established in Hong Kong to nine.

Captive insurance companies are typically initiated by large corporate groups and focus on managing various risks within the group rather than underwriting external business for profit. Their core value lies in smoothing financial fluctuations and reducing overall insurance costs through the centralized management of internal risks.

In European and American markets, captive companies have decades of development history and mature mechanisms, making them a common feature in the governance structures of multinational corporations. In contrast, the Asian captive market is still in its early stages, with significant room for growth in both the number of institutions and premium volume.

Hong Kong is actively seizing this opportunity to build itself into an Asian captive insurance hub, aiming to drive demand for professional services such as accounting, actuarial science, and law, while attracting global reinsurance resources.

For large enterprises, establishing captive insurance companies in Hong Kong offers practical advantages.

The Hong Kong Insurance Authority recently stated that companies can comprehensively identify, monitor, transfer, and mitigate various risks faced by the group at lower administrative costs and compliance thresholds;

Meanwhile, captive insurance companies can also create synergies with treasury centers and asset management departments already established in Hong Kong, enhancing capital efficiency and operational resilience.

From an industry perspective, SF Holding has a long business chain and a high proportion of heavy assets, covering air fleets, transport vehicles, warehousing facilities, and the movement of large numbers of personnel and cargo. It faces multidimensional risks including cargo damage, employer liability, property security, and natural disasters. Under the traditional commercial insurance model, premiums are susceptible to market cycles and fluctuations in industry loss ratios.

With the establishment of a dedicated captive insurance company, SF Holding can use actuarial pricing based on its actual risk data, allowing for more effective control of risk costs during its international expansion.

Notably, this is the first captive insurance company established in Hong Kong by a mainland private enterprise.

Following HSBC Group and SAIC Motor setting up captive insurance companies in Hong Kong in 2025, the Hong Kong captive insurance market is experiencing a new wave of expansion.

Since the beginning of 2026, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority has newly authorized three captive insurance companies. In addition to SF Insurance, the authority granted authorization to CNNC Insurance Limited, a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation, in February this year; the latter officially unveiled its plaque on June 30.

CNNC Insurance stated that it would leverage Hong Kong's rule-of-law environment and green finance system to develop nuclear-themed green insurance and carbon finance supporting products, serving the global low-carbon energy transition. Also approved during the same period was HSH Captive Limited, established by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, becoming Hong Kong's first captive insurance company initiated by the hotel industry.

Looking back at history, mainland large enterprises began establishing captive insurance companies in Hong Kong in 2000, with CNOOC Insurance Limited registering first;

Subsequently, Sinopec Insurance, CGN Insurance, and Shanghai Electric Insurance were established in succession. The profile of enterprises establishing captive insurance companies in Hong Kong has become increasingly diverse, evolving from early state-owned enterprises in energy and power sectors to recent automotive manufacturing and financial groups, and now to SF Holding, a leading private logistics company.

This trend reflects the common demand across different industries to strengthen internal risk management in global competition.

Raymond Chong, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Insurance Authority, pointed out that the addition of new captive insurance companies confirms Hong Kong's successful implementation of its development strategy focusing on local multinational enterprises, mainland state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises. By attracting more large enterprises with diverse ownership structures and industry backgrounds, Hong Kong is steadily moving towards its goal of becoming a leading risk management center.