Strengthening the SOA Across Asia Pacific

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) established the Greater Asia Committee in 2015 to serve SOA members and candidates and to coordinate activities across nine key regions in Asia. This committee supports the Asian actuarial community in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, and helps inform SOA members and candidates about emerging actuarial trends. Our mission is to enhance engagement and professional development within the actuarial community by working collaboratively with local associations, employers and universities through in-person events, webcasts and regional outreach.

REFLECTING ON 2025

As we look back on 2025, it was a year of strong engagement and meaningful progress for the SOA in East and Southeast Asia. With local cooperation, we delivered a robust slate of professional development programs, expanded our outreach to students and faculty, and strengthened our regional presence through sponsorships and networking activities.

In 2026, we will continue this journey, building on what worked well in 2025 and responding to the evolving needs of members, candidates and stakeholders in the region. The SOA will continue to deepen its presence and impact across Asia in 2026.

EVENTS, ARTICLES AND VIRTUAL LEARNING IN 2025

Attending conferences, seminars and webcasts remains one of the best ways for actuaries to stay current with emerging issues, exchange ideas and expand their professional networks. In 2025, we offered a mix of in-person and virtual activities across the region.

In-person events

The largest SOA event in the region, the 15^th Asia-Pacific Symposium, remained a key highlight. Held on June 16–17, it drew more than 450 participants, making it one of the most well-attended symposiums we have organized solely in Asia to date. As part of the symposium, we hosted the Datathon: Health Insurance Rating Workshop on June 17, which provided young actuaries and candidates with valuable hands-on experience applying data and analytics to real-world problems.

In total, we held four in-person professional development events in Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, and Kuala Lumpur, providing learning and networking opportunities for about 1,000 members across multiple markets:

• AICT–SOA Joint Seminar in Taipei, April 15. More than 100 participants joined the event offered by the SOA in partnership with the Actuarial Institute of Chinese Taipei.
• ASM–SOA Joint Seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 29–30. our third joint seminar with the Actuarial Society of Malaysia, it attracted more than 300 participants.
• Asia-Pacific Symposium in Hong Kong, June 16–17. More than 450 attendees participated.
• The SOA Seoul Seminar, Sept. 2, had more than 100 participants.

Supporting our members at key milestones of their professional journey is a core part of the Greater Asia Committee’s mandate.

In 2025, we delivered an Associateship Professionalism Course (APC) in Hong Kong on Aug. 12–13 and a Fellowship Admissions Course (FAC) in Thailand on June 25–27. These programs reinforced professional and ethical standards while helping new ASAs and FSAs navigate career transitions and increased professional responsibilities.

We also organized three networking events in Singapore, Seoul and Bangkok. These events provided informal platforms for members to connect with peers, exchange views on market developments, and share perspectives on how the profession and the SOA can continue to evolve in the region.

Webcasts and articles

To reach a broader audience across the region, we complemented these in-person events with six professional development webinars and webcasts, engaging more than 1,000 industry professionals and members. Among the events offered were:

• PAI–SOA Joint Webinar on Feb. 26, a half-day virtual event in partnership with the Society of Actuaries of Indonesia
• Unmasking Mystery of Actuarial Innovation – Loyalty Analytics and CI Product Transformation webcast on March 19
• Regulatory Panel Discussion webcast on May 20
• Optimizing Reinsurance Strategies webcast on Aug. 20
• The Professional Edge: Navigating Ethics, Innovation and Integrity in a Changing World webcast on Oct. 9
• Future-Proofing Retirement: Technology, Longevity and Actuarial Solutions webcast on Dec. 16

In addition to virtual events, we continued to support thought leadership through articles published by The Actuary Asia on topics including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and artificial intelligence (AI), reflecting issues of growing relevance to local markets. We also featured three “conversations with young actuaries” articles, spotlighting early career actuaries in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Thailand.

REGIONAL OUTREACH

Increasing our visibility in the local industries is as important as supporting our members and candidates through activities. Regional outreach to universities, students and faculty remained a key focus in 2025. To strengthen engagement with local actuarial societies and stakeholders, we have conducted many activities, including local university visits, career fairs and employer meetings.

We conducted 44 in-person university outreach events and six virtual sessions, reaching more than 5,000 students across multiple markets. These visits and sessions introduced students to the actuarial profession and the SOA pathway, and offered guidance on exams, skills and career planning.

We also held the 2025 Actuarial Teaching Conference in Indonesia on May 16–17, which brought together around 100 faculty members from nine countries. The conference offered a forum to discuss curriculum developments, teaching approaches and emerging topics in actuarial science and data analytics.

To increase our visibility among students and support their career journeys, we sponsored key student-focused events, including the Singapore Actuarial Conference and Career Fair, and the Malaysian Actuarial Student Association (MASA) and Sunway Actuarial and Financial Excellence (SAFE) Symposium in Malaysia. Through these events, we reached approximately 2,000 students and strengthened connections with local student communities.

Our Student Success Program continued to grow. By mid-2025, five universities from four countries—the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam—had joined the program, contributing to approximately 150 new first-time SOA candidates. This initiative is helping to build strong local pipelines of actuarial talent across the region.

Regional presence and partnerships

Increasing the visibility of the SOA in local industries is as important as supporting members and candidates through professional development and outreach. In 2025, we continued to build and strengthen relationships with local associations and industry stakeholders through sponsorships and joint activities.

We sponsored several major regional events, including:

• Singapore Actuarial Society Conference in Singapore (Aug. 27–29).
• The Actuarial Society of Hong Kong General Insurance Conference in Hong Kong (Sept. 2).
• East Asian Insurance Congress in Hong Kong (Sept. 24–27).
• Actuarial Society of the Philippines Convention in the Philippines (Nov. 5–8).
• Asian Actuarial Conference in Thailand (Nov. 11–14).
• Vietnam Actuarial Conference (Nov. 21).

Through these sponsorships and collaborations, we were able to maintain strong ties with local actuarial bodies and employers, exchange views on current industry issues and explore new areas for cooperation.

The research subcommittee has also been actively discussing which topics to conduct in-depth research on to support members and candidates in the field.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2026

We will continue this journey in 2026, building on the momentum from 2025 and focusing on activities that deliver meaningful value to members, candidates and stakeholders in Greater Asia.

We plan to host four in-person professional development events again in Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur:

• An ASM Joint Seminar in early May, in partnership with the Actuarial Society of Malaysia
• The 16^th Asia-Pacific Symposium in early June (8–9 June), in partnership with the Actuarial Institute of Chinese Taipei.
• A Seoul seminar in September.
• A SOA-SOAT Joint seminar, in partnership with the Society of Actuaries of Thailand in November.

We will also produce five webcasts throughout 2026. Topics will be selected to reflect current trends in the region and to support members navigating a rapidly changing environment.

Networking activities will continue to play a major role in 2026. Planned events include:

• An Indonesia networking event on April 22.
• A Singapore networking event around Aug. 24.
• A Japan networking event around November
• A Hong Kong C-suite networking event in July, to foster dialogue among senior leaders on risk, capital and strategy for the future of the actuarial profession

We will also maintain our sponsorship presence at key regional conferences and conventions:

• Convention A, a virtual sponsor event on March 24
• The 35^th Southern Region Statistical Symposium in Taiwan on June 26–27
• Actuarial Society of the Philippines Convention in November
• Vietnam Actuarial Conference in November

We are also planning the following education program milestones:

• A Fellowship Admissions Course (FAC) in Bangkok, Nov. 11–13.
• A Taiwan faculty conference June 26–27.
• An Associateship Professionalism Course (APC) in Hong Kong, Aug. 11–12.

IN CLOSING

None of these outcomes would have been possible without the dedication of our Greater Asia Committee volunteers and strong support from our local partners. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all volunteers who contributed their time and expertise to make our 2025 activities a success.

I would also like to thank the SOA staff team supporting Greater Asia for their tireless efforts in coordinating across regions and ensuring the smooth delivery of our programs.

Looking ahead, I am confident that, together with our members, candidates and partners, we will continue to strengthen the SOA’s presence and impact across Asia Pacific in 2026 and beyond.

As my term as chair of the Greater Asia Committee comes to an end, I am grateful for the opportunity to have served our members and candidates across the region. It has been a privilege to work with dedicated volunteers, SOA staff and local partners who helped make our 2025 activities a success.

I am pleased to share that Evi Tedjasukmana, FSA, has assumed the role of chair of the Greater Asia Committee. She brings strong regional experience and a clear commitment to supporting members, candidates and stakeholders in Greater Asia. I am confident the committee will continue to grow and thrive under her leadership.

Finally, I wish all our members and candidates a successful and fulfilling year.

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries or the respective authors’ employers.

Copyright © 2026 by the Society of Actuaries, Chicago, Illinois.