11 July 2003

To: Chief Executive of all authorized insurance institutions
      carrying on long term business

Dear Sir/Madam,

Non-cooperative Countries and Territories ("NCCTs")

The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering ("FATF") regularly updates its list of NCCTs. At its recent plenary meeting, it has decided to remove St. Vincent and the Grenadines from the list of NCCTs. The updated list of the remaining 9 NCCTs is as follows:

• Cook Islands
• Indonesia
• Nigeria
• Egypt
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Guatemala
• Nauru
• Ukraine

You are advised to give special attention to businesses and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, in the above NCCTs, in accordance with Recommendation 21 ^Note of the FATF Forty Recommendations.

The FATF will review the NCCT list from time to time. Changes to the list, if any, will be conveyed to you through similar advisory in due course.

New Members of FATF

The FATF also admitted South Africa and the Russian Federation as full members of the FATF, following a positive outcome of the first mutual evaluations that assessed their systems for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

Should you have any enquiries, please contact Mr. William Hsieh at 2867 4529 or Ms. Joanne Lin at 2867 2557.

Yours sincerely,

(Ros K. T. Lam)
for Commissioner of Insurance

Note:
Recommendation 21 : Financial institutions should give special attention to business relations and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, from countries which do not or insufficiently apply the FATF Recommendations. Whenever these transactions have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose, their background and purpose should, as far as possible, be examined, the findings established in writing, and be available to help competent authorities. Where such a country continues not to apply or insufficiently applies the FATF Recommendations, countries should be able to apply appropriate countermeasures.

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