Simultaneously, our insurance sector scored excellent results. There were 24 insurance institutions operating in Macao in 2007. Total annual insurance premiums amounted to MOP3.22 billion which was an increase of 29.8% year-on-year. Among which, life insurance premium was MOP2.25 billion while property insurance accounted for MOP970 million. In addition, there was a marked development in private pension fund business.
That’s why we monitor other categories of risks, such as operational risks, faced by supervised firms and by the financial system as a whole. Operational risks come in many guises, and we pay in particular close attention to IT risks. Financial firms are evermore dependent on their information technology.