Bermuda-based re/insurer Tokio Millennium Re Ltd (TMR) has won authorisation to carry on insurance business in Australia.The company said yesterday that the Sydney-based branch will produce property and casualty treaty opportunities emanating from Australia and New Zealand for TMR in Bermuda to underwrite.TMR, a subsidiary of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co Ltd, announced yesterday that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has authorised TMR’s Australian branch to carry on insurance business in Australia.The Australian branch is an APRA-authorised general insurer and has been capitalised with $80 million of assets in Australia.All Australian business underwritten by TMR will be bound by TMR Australia.Russell Brooke, managing director of the branch, said: “Establishing a branch in Sydney will allow us to work closely with our clients and their brokers. We will gain a better understanding of their needs, the opportunities available to us, and the associated risks involved.“Australia and New Zealand, as a region, has recently suffered an unprecedented frequency and severity of losses. We believe that the timing of our approval to do business in Australia will be mutually beneficial.”Tatsuhiko Hoshina, president and chief executive officer of TMR, said: “This is the next step in our stated goal of growing our international presence and providing greater capital efficiency for our parent company.“I am delighted that we can add Sydney to our list of operations already established in Bermuda, London and Zurich.”TMR was originally established in Bermuda in 2000 to act as a strategic risk diversifier for the Tokio Marine Group by writing P&C reinsurance business outside Japan.Useful website:www.tokiomillennium.com