Catlin teams up with China Re

The Lloyd's of London insurer Catlin has formed an alliance with China Re that will inject Chinese funds into the London market and enable the British insurer up to exploit opportunities in Asia.

Catlin, which operates one of the biggest underwriting syndicates at Lloyd's, said it would form a new entity called "Syndicate 2088".

China Re will provide the capital for the venture, while Catlin will manage it. The establishment of Syndicate 2088 will also mark the first time that a Chinese-based company has directly invested in a Lloyd's of London syndicate, Catlin said.

Stephen Catlin, the chief executive, said the partnership would increase Catlin's understanding of the Chinese market. He added: "This alliance will create a new Lloyd's special purpose syndicate, providing reinsurance support that will allow Catlin to take greater advantage of improvements in many business classes without the need to increase capital."

Earlier this week, Catlin said that a wave of natural disasters this year, including an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, had resulted in $670m (£423m) losses so far.