Bowtie Life Insurance, the city’s first virtual insurer, on Friday said it raised US$70 million in its third funding round from existing shareholder Sun Life, its largest such effort since its establishment in 2018.
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“The stock market rally in Hong Kong this year has improved market sentiment, paving the way for many start-ups and companies to raise funds in both private and public markets,” said Fred Ngan, Bowtie’s co-founder, in an interview on Friday.
The city’s Hang Seng Index benchmark is up 22.1 per cent so far this year, ranking it among the world’s best-performing major stock gauges. A stock market re-rating, aided by enthusiasm for Chinese technology stocks and a trend away from US dollar-denominated assets, has fuelled risk appetite and improved demand for initial public offerings (IPOs), helping the city rise to the top of the global league table, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group.
Bowtie was established in December 2018, and the city’s former financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah serves as an adviser.
Since 2019, Hong Kong regulators have allowed eight digital banks and five virtual insurance companies to provide financial services in the city.
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Bowtie can only sell policies online, but it has opened a cafe in Wan Chai to act as its customer service centre, and it also has some physical health clinics.