KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Global credit rating agency, AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a” (Excellent) of Hong Kong’s CMB Wing Lung Insurance Company Limited (CMBWLI), with a stable outlook.
In a statement, AM Best said the credit ratings (ratings) reflect CMBWLI’s very strong balance sheet strength, strong operating performance, neutral business profile, and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The company’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its robust risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio. Capital and surplus recorded mid- to high-single-digit growth in 2024 and 2025, benefiting from partial retention of its sustained and stable operating profits.
CMBWLI maintains a prudent investment strategy, enhancing bond portfolio quality while keeping cash and cash equivalents as its largest asset class. Additional supporting factors include its strong regulatory solvency position, positive liquidity, and comprehensive reinsurance programme with moderate dependency.
Its operating performance remains strong, with high-single-digit average returns on equity over the past five years (2021 to 2025). Despite a slight decline of topline in 2025 due to competitive market conditions, the company maintained a net/net combined ratio consistently below 90 per cent, outperforming the broader market.
CMBWLI’s investment performance also improved, supported by stable interest and dividend income, fair value gains on listed securities, and recovery of impairment loss.
As a medium-sized non-life insurer in Hong Kong, CMBWLI is one of the major market players in the employees’ compensation segment, with a diversified portfolio spanning motor and property damage lines.
Backed by China Merchants Group Limited, the company expects further growth in marine insurance and is exploring opportunities in inward property damage business beyond Hong Kong.
-- BERNAMA
Friday, 3 April 2026
Thursday, 2 April 2026
VISUAL BANK EXPANDS AI TRAINING DATA SOLUTION FOR JAPANESE SPEECH MODELS
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- Visual Bank Inc, via its subsidiary amanaimages Inc, has announced the expansion of its Qlean Dataset, a premium artificial intelligence (AI) training data solution for developers building high-performance Japanese speech foundation models.
The expansion strengthens its position in providing rights-cleared datasets for research and development and large-scale AI applications.
“As demand for culturally contextualised foundation models grows, high-quality, legally compliant Japanese training data is becoming increasingly critical.
“Visual Bank is committed to bridging the gap between raw content and production-ready AI systems through rigorous data preparation and engineering,” said its chief executive officer, Saneyuki Nagai, in a statement.
The datasets are fully rights-cleared for commercial use and aligned with global compliance standards such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
They include high-fidelity audio assets recorded at 48 kilohertz (kHz)/16-bit or higher, enabling capture of both studio-quality speech and diverse acoustic environments.
In addition, the datasets support detection of harmful language, including hate speech and abusive prompts, and include evaluation datasets aligned with international benchmarks such as MMSU to assess reasoning and linguistic nuance in Japanese.
The solution also incorporates Japan-specific audio, including traditional and urban sound environments, to support multimodal and spatial AI applications.
The datasets are available through AI Data Recipe, which offers both ready-to-use datasets and customised data production, including speaker casting, recording and annotation tailored to specific development needs.
-- BERNAMA
The expansion strengthens its position in providing rights-cleared datasets for research and development and large-scale AI applications.
“As demand for culturally contextualised foundation models grows, high-quality, legally compliant Japanese training data is becoming increasingly critical.
“Visual Bank is committed to bridging the gap between raw content and production-ready AI systems through rigorous data preparation and engineering,” said its chief executive officer, Saneyuki Nagai, in a statement.
The datasets are fully rights-cleared for commercial use and aligned with global compliance standards such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
They include high-fidelity audio assets recorded at 48 kilohertz (kHz)/16-bit or higher, enabling capture of both studio-quality speech and diverse acoustic environments.
In addition, the datasets support detection of harmful language, including hate speech and abusive prompts, and include evaluation datasets aligned with international benchmarks such as MMSU to assess reasoning and linguistic nuance in Japanese.
The solution also incorporates Japan-specific audio, including traditional and urban sound environments, to support multimodal and spatial AI applications.
The datasets are available through AI Data Recipe, which offers both ready-to-use datasets and customised data production, including speaker casting, recording and annotation tailored to specific development needs.
-- BERNAMA
OMNI BRIDGEWAY NAMES PETER GALGAY TO DRIVE CAPITAL STRATEGY
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- Omni Bridgeway, a global leader in litigation financing and risk management, has appointed Peter Galgay as Head of Commercial Strategy and Capital Solutions based in New York.
According to Omni Bridgeway in a statement, Galgay's primary focus will be on expanding the company’s capabilities in origination, underwriting, and management of large-scale structured finance and alternative investment solutions for legal assets.
Additionally, he is set to be a key player in supporting Omni Bridgeway’s global investor relations and capital formation initiatives.
“Peter brings a unique blend of investment leadership, capital markets expertise, and first‑hand experience in all aspects of legal finance.
“He knows Omni Bridgeway well, and his strategic insight, commercial drive and global perspective will be instrumental as we continue to expand our capital solutions offering for legal assets,” said its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Raymond van Hulst.
Meanwhile, Galgay expressed his enthusiasm for the role, stating he is honoured to join Omni Bridgeway and is looking forward to collaborating with teams worldwide to advance the company's capital solution capabilities and support clients through scalable investment partnerships.
Prior to joining Omni Bridgeway, Galgay served for over a decade as Chief Investment Officer for a Singapore-based family office. Earlier in his professional life, Galgay worked as a Senior Analyst in Ernst & Young’s Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services practice and also held a position as an Equity Portfolio Manager at Deutsche Asset Management.
Galgay is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and holds a Master of Arts in International Business and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Florida, alongside a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD.
-- BERNAMA
According to Omni Bridgeway in a statement, Galgay's primary focus will be on expanding the company’s capabilities in origination, underwriting, and management of large-scale structured finance and alternative investment solutions for legal assets.
Additionally, he is set to be a key player in supporting Omni Bridgeway’s global investor relations and capital formation initiatives.
“Peter brings a unique blend of investment leadership, capital markets expertise, and first‑hand experience in all aspects of legal finance.
“He knows Omni Bridgeway well, and his strategic insight, commercial drive and global perspective will be instrumental as we continue to expand our capital solutions offering for legal assets,” said its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Raymond van Hulst.
Meanwhile, Galgay expressed his enthusiasm for the role, stating he is honoured to join Omni Bridgeway and is looking forward to collaborating with teams worldwide to advance the company's capital solution capabilities and support clients through scalable investment partnerships.
Prior to joining Omni Bridgeway, Galgay served for over a decade as Chief Investment Officer for a Singapore-based family office. Earlier in his professional life, Galgay worked as a Senior Analyst in Ernst & Young’s Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services practice and also held a position as an Equity Portfolio Manager at Deutsche Asset Management.
Galgay is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and holds a Master of Arts in International Business and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Florida, alongside a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD.
-- BERNAMA
Wednesday, 1 April 2026
NEINOR PARTNERS STONESHIELD ON 150 MLN EUROS MARBELLA RESIDENTIAL PROJECT
KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Bernama) -- Neinor Homes (Neinor), Spain’s listed residential developer, has partnered with Stoneshield Capital (Stoneshield) to develop a 150 million euro premium residential project in Marbella, marking its entry into the high-end residential segment. (1 Euro = RM4.65)
“This partnership demonstrates the strength of our platform, combining development expertise with institutional capital to deliver high-quality projects,” said Neinor Chief Executive Officer, Borja García-Egotxeaga in a statement.
The development will comprise 262 homes across more than 60,000 square metres, adjacent to Río Real Golf Course and close to Marbella city centre, Puerto Banús and the beach.
It will include a 1,200 square metre private members’ club featuring wellness areas, pools, sports facilities and landscaped spaces.
The project is one of the largest residential developments launched in Marbella in recent years, with expected revenues exceeding 600 million euros over the next five years.
Under the joint venture structure, Stoneshield will hold a 70 per cent stake and Neinor 30 per cent, with Neinor acting as delegated developer across the full development lifecycle.
The investment reflects strong fundamentals in Marbella, supported by robust international demand and limited land supply.
The transaction reinforces Neinor’s asset management platform, which has deployed over 1.3 billion euros alongside institutional investors including AXA IM Alts, Orion Capital, King Street and Bain Capital.
-- BERNAMA
“This partnership demonstrates the strength of our platform, combining development expertise with institutional capital to deliver high-quality projects,” said Neinor Chief Executive Officer, Borja García-Egotxeaga in a statement.
The development will comprise 262 homes across more than 60,000 square metres, adjacent to Río Real Golf Course and close to Marbella city centre, Puerto Banús and the beach.
It will include a 1,200 square metre private members’ club featuring wellness areas, pools, sports facilities and landscaped spaces.
The project is one of the largest residential developments launched in Marbella in recent years, with expected revenues exceeding 600 million euros over the next five years.
Under the joint venture structure, Stoneshield will hold a 70 per cent stake and Neinor 30 per cent, with Neinor acting as delegated developer across the full development lifecycle.
The investment reflects strong fundamentals in Marbella, supported by robust international demand and limited land supply.
The transaction reinforces Neinor’s asset management platform, which has deployed over 1.3 billion euros alongside institutional investors including AXA IM Alts, Orion Capital, King Street and Bain Capital.
-- BERNAMA
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