With a rapidly growing membership in South-East Asia and a unique network of businesses, governments and academic institutions, we are committed to supporting our members, their employers, students and educators all across the region.
Learn more about the services we offer
Become an actuary
Whether you're thinking about becoming an Associate, Fellow or Actuarial Analyst, the profession offers an exciting career for those who are ready to take the next step and get more from their love of maths.
Every year we welcome new students from all across South-East Asia who are inspired by the idea of becoming an actuary.
To qualify as an actuary you need to apply to become a student member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). You then need to pass our exams, which typically run in April and September, and gain a satisfactory level of work-based skills.
To find out more about the IFoA and how you can achieve your career goals, download our "More than maths" brochure today.
Being an actuary: our members' experience
Our members in South-East Asia work in traditional areas such as insurance, but also in non-traditional areas such as banking, investment, InsurTech and in digital roles.
Here are some stories from our members on the wide range of opportunities being an actuary gives you:
"The most important thing for an actuary is to have the right mindset to be able to manage people, adjust and convince people that you can do anything."
Anusha Thavarajah, CEO, Malaysia (Read the case study)
"I work in a small team in a reinsurance broker and the scope of work can be very diverse. Given the backdrop of maturity in the data science field, the increasing sophistication of the insurance industry in Asia, and the shifting insurance regulatory regimes in the region, it is clearly an exciting time to be an actuary."
Chris Lim Shen, Senior Analyst, Singapore (Read the case study)
"I enjoy developing a positive working relationship with my clients. It motivates me when I am able to solve their problems, and as a result, become their "first-to-go-to" contact. This makes my work feel more meaningful. I also enjoy the opportunity to apply my technical actuarial skills to creatively deliver innovative solutions for my clients whilst ensuring robust risk management practice."
Albertus Teddy Setiadi, Director, Singapore (Read the case study)
Supporting actuarial employers in South-East Asia
We are committed to promoting quality assurance at an organisational level to ensure confidence in the work of actuaries in South-East Asia.
There are now five employers in South-East Asia that have achieved the IFoA’s Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) accreditation. The most recent addition is AIA Malaysia and Nicholas Actuarial Solutions.
The QAS accredited organisations in South-East Asia are:
- Actuarial Partners Consulting Sdh Bhd (Group Actuarial department)
- AIA Berhad, AIA Public Takaful Bhd, AIA General Berhad
- AIA Company Limited (Thailand Actuarial department)
- Aon Singapore Centre Innovation, Strategy & Management Pte Ltd
- Nicholas Actuarial Solutions
Become an accredited university
The IFoA works with a range of accredited universities in South-East Asia to ensure the highest quality in actuarial education and training.
Top 3 reasons why universities apply for IFoA's accreditation:
- enhance their actuarial science programmes
- boost student employability
- increase their profile worldwide
There are eight universities in South-East Asia that have exemptions to at least some of the IFoA’s exams, these are:
- Asia Pacific University, Malaysia
- Heriot-Watt University, Malaysia
- Mahidol University, Thailand
- Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Sunway University, Malaysia
- UCSI University, Malaysia
- University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Universiti Teknologi Mara, Malaysia
View our list of accredited universities
Interested in becoming an accredited university? Contact us to find out more.
Become a volunteer
IFoA Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do. Volunteering brings a range of great benefits.
We have an active volunteer community in South-East Asia. There are over 70 volunteers in the region.
“Volunteering provides opportunities for members to interact with other actuaries, globally, and gives them a platform to exchange ideas and understand a variety of issues observed in developed and developing countries.”
Farzana Ismail (Read the case study)
"My role in the ISCF has also given me the opportunity to engage with many actuarial students in my region. By sharing their experience, thoughts and concerns with the IFoA Education team, I hope I can somewhat contribute in shaping the future of aspiring actuaries."
Ooi Choong Hern (Read the case study)
“I would encourage you to step forward and become a CPD Co-ordinator for your company!”
Pay Peng Neo (Read the case study)
Please contact us to find out more about volunteering opportunities in South-East Asia.
News
Read an article on Crop Insurance in the November 2020 edition of The Actuary magazine. This article was written by Saunak Dutta, who is a member of the IFoA's GI Asia Working Party in the November edition.
Events
Explore the world of investment actuaries
2 March 2021, 16.00-17.30 (GMT+8)
Mr Tan Suee Chieh, IFoA's President, will be joined by a panel of investment actuaries to discuss how they have entered the field of investment and to better understand the nature of their work. They will also give their views on the challenges and opportunities the market is facing given the low interest rate and increased uncertainties in the current market environment including the impact of COVID-19.
The panelists are:
- Feifei Zhang, FFA, Founding Partner of Mountain Creek Investment
- Haijing Wang, FIA, Chief Investment Officer at HSBC Life China
- Steven Yang Yu, FIA, Managing Director of Redington Ltd and Deputy Chairman of Yu Yuan Technology (Shanghai) Ltd
- Ellen Yi Yang, FFA, Head of Structuring at Deutsche Bank
This event is free for all IFoA members. If you are interested to attend, please register on the Zoom website.
IFoA University Webinar Series: Opportunities for Actuaries in Banking
6 April 2021, 18.00-19.00 (GMT+8)
Iain trained as an actuary in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has worked in banking for over 30 years in a variety of roles. In this webinar, Iain will give an overview of banking, drawing attention to the similarities and differences from insurance and pensions. He will also comment on current developments in banking and will highlight opportunities for students interested in working in banking.
If you are interested to attend, please register on the Zoom website.
23rd Asian Actuarial Conference (AAC)
11 to 14 October 2021
The Actuarial Society of Malaysia (ASM) is proud to be hosting the 23rd Asian Actuarial Conference, themed “Creating
Outstanding Value in Disruption”.
The theme for AAC 2021 focuses on the new normal that the world is living now especially with the pandemic situation still in
critical stage globally. It is through such adversity that innovation shines brightly through. With new technology and ever changing
fast paced moving world we live in, this year’s conference in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre brings new meaning to the
new normal.
Call for papers is now open. If you are interested to submit your paper, please send an outline of your presentation and a brief background of the presenter(s) to presentation@aacmy2021.org by 15 March 2021.
Event speakers
Looking for speakers? Our members are experienced speakers on a range of topics with recent presentations in South-East Asia on cyber risk, retirement adequacy and IFRS17.
About us
The IFoA’s Singapore office has been in operation since 2014 and we were the first, and remain the only, international body to have an office in South-East Asia. The office has been set up to cater to our 1,000+ members in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Please get in touch with us if you have an interest in joining the actuarial profession, or employing actuaries in South-East Asia.
Contact details | |
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5 Shenton Way *The IFoA Singapore office is now closed and we are working remotely. Plese contact Caryn or Marie if you have any questions. |
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Caryn Chua, South-East Asia Actuary Representative Contact number: +65 8838 5848 (also contactable on Line, WhatsApp and WeChat) |
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Marie Lee, South-East Asia Regional Coordinator Contact number: +65 8778 1784 (also contactable on Line, WhatsApp and WeChat) |
We also work closely with the local societies in the region:
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Events calendar
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ARC Webinar Series 2021 - Use of Primary Health Care Records Data in Actuarial Research
Webinar9 March 2021As part of the ARC Webinar Series 2021, this webinar will review the work of the UEA/Aviva research team over the last four years on a major research programme funded by the IFoA’s Actuarial Research Centre.
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Implications of Climate Change for Life Insurer's Risk Modelling and Strategic Asset Allocation
12 March 2021Climate change poses a significant threat across many regions and sectors, and businesses. Insurers and asset managers, must play a role in ensuring transparency around climate related risks and opportunities.
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Whilst insurers have been performing stress and scenario testing for many years, in the last 12 months the PRA has increased its focus on the ability to identify, measure and increase financial and operational resilience.
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Finance in the Public Interest Series
16 March 2021 - 23 March 2021There is widening debate that many of our social, financial and regulatory institutions need to be rethought so that we can create more sustainable futures, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the policy/macro-economic response to the pandemic and how it affects consumers, as well as the impending climate crisis. This multi-day series of three keynote webinars, individually presented by leading economist John Kay, Sir Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, Ashok Gupta, Chair at Mercer Ltd, and Nico Aspinall, Chief Investment Officer at B&CE, will open up discussion on these essential topics. The series will culminate in a panel session with Chief Economist of the Bank of England, Andy Haldane.
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The price is righter
16 March 2021This webinar provides an overview of the state of the UK protection market, and how different insurers are using different levels of sophistication to price (such as using customer demand models). It considers how insurers have implemented these sophisticated pricing techniques, and the practical challenges they have faced.
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This discussion will revolve around the latest industry developments including and introduction to Part VII transfers and Schemes of Arrangement (process, parties involved and recent events), insights and lessons from recent with-profits transactions and restructurings (including Equitable Life and Pru-Rothesay), how firms can apply these learnings to future arrangements, and the outlook for future with-profits transactions and restructurings (including the impacts of Covid-19 and Brexit)
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The role of stewardship in creating long term value
25 March 2021What is stewardship and how has the landscape changed under the 2020 UK Stewardship Code? How does effective stewardship create long term value for beneficiaries and what roles do asset owners and asset managers play in active stewardship. This webinar will offer answers to these questions in a practical approach to stewardship reporting.
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Dr Catherine Donnelly will present the basics of the structures for pooling longevity risks and summarise recent research results in this area in addition to outlinging future research around this topic. This is work under a research programme funded by the IFoA's Actuarial Research Centre, called 'Minimizing longevity and investment risk while optimising future pension plans'.
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Mis-estimation risk is a key element of demographic risk, and past work has focused on mis-estimation risk on a run-off basis. However, this does not meet the requirements of regulatory regimes like Solvency II, which demands that capital requirements are set through the prism of a finite horizon like one year. This paper presents a value-at-risk approach to mis-estimation risk suitable for Solvency II work.