Validus Reinsurance Ltd. has been granted permission by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate a branch reinsurer underwriting general reinsurance business in Singapore.

The branch will be headed by Marc Haushofer, who joined Validus in September 2008 and has led Validus' Asia-Pacific reinsurance representative office in Singapore.

Conan Ward, CEO of Validus Re, said: "We are very excited to take this next important step in the development of our Asia-Pacific business.

"The representative office that we established earlier this year has had great success under Marc's leadership in building our presence in the region.

"Our ability to provide direct underwriting services in Singapore will allow us to further grow our Asia-Pacific business and provide enhanced services to existing clients in the region."

Validus Re is registered by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority as a foreign company in Singapore as Validus Reinsurance Ltd.

Validus Re's Singapore branch is licensed to provide reinsurance domestically and internationally.