MGA Insurance Brokers aims to expand into Laos and Myanmar within the next year, following the success of its Cambodian operation.

The Adelaide-based brokerage opened an office in Phnom Penh in 2013, and has seen strong growth.

MD Paul George says Laos and Myanmar will be the next step, and positive discussions have taken place with regulatory authorities.

“The Cambodian business has grown steadily since it opened and we expect it will be profitable within the next 12 months, which will be slightly ahead of schedule,” he said.

“This success has helped us make the decision to expand further in the region.”

Negotiations with Laotian regulatory authorities are advanced, Mr George says.

“We are hopeful we will be in a position to open in Vientiane in the coming months, using a similar model to that in Cambodia, where we partnered with two local brokers.

“Negotiations with authorities in Myanmar are at an early stage, but are looking positive.”

Mr George says the strategy is to target emerging nations rather than established Asian markets such as Singapore or Hong Kong.

“While we would like to be involved in Hong Kong and Singapore, they are mature markets that are difficult to break into and we have been unable to find the right people to work with.

“Countries such as Myanmar and Laos are still developing, but have a number of economic zones that are attracting foreign capital.

“While it is still early days, we believe there are good opportunities to grow.”

In July MGA announced the acquisition of Cranston Australia’s business in Horsham, Victoria, which expanded their Australian network to 40 offices and more than 380 staff.