BANGKOK (Reuters) ? Asia?s insurance industry is poised for strong growth this year with booming economies in China and India fuelling corporate demand for protection, Ace Ltd. said yesterday.

?The operating environment in Asia is very encouraging,? Kenneth Brown, managing director of Ace?s Singapore operations, told Reuters in an interview.

?Economic growth is taking place and the insurance industry very closely follows the economic climate,? Brown said on the sidelines of the 6th Asian CEO Insurance Summit in Bangkok.

?We have a lot of revolution and a lot of economic growth here. There is a dynamic tri-pillar between India, Southeast Asia and China where products and services have been traded comprehensively,? he said.

Economists have upgraded their growth forecast for Asian economies outside Japan in 2006 after a pick-up in demand from the United States and Japan, according to a Reuters poll in January.

China will remain the star, with Asia?s second biggest economy forecast to grow 9.2 percent this year, faster than the 8.6 percent seen in the previous poll, although the changes to official data mean the polls are not strictly comparable.

The Chinese economy grew by 9.9 percent in 2005.

Brown said the threat of bird flu and other pandemics would also encourage people to be well prepared.

Asia?s growing middle class also meant higher consumer consumption and increased travel, spurring demand for insurance.

The middle class was estimated at 80 million in China, 15 million in Thailand, 12 million in India and 9 million in Malaysia.

China?s overseas travellers alone were projected to increase to 50 million by 2010 from 29 million, he said.

Ace has a strategic partnership with China?s Huatai Insurance Co., in which it is the single largest shareholder.

Brown said Bermuda-based Ace was looking to expand in Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand, where market penetration rates were quite low. He did not elaborate.

Ace, established in 1985, provides insurance and reinsurance services, including coverage for property, casualty and financial services. It has more than 9,000 employees worldwide.

It competes with American International Group, Chubb Corp and Hartford Financial Services Group.