James Yau has joined Coface as head of commercial, Southeast Asia and head of mid-market, Asia Pacific, effective 5 June, the speciality trade credit insurer said on Friday.
Based in Singapore, Yau returns to the company after working at American International Group (AIG) for over six years, most recently as head of trade credit, APAC.
Before that, Yau held leadership positions at Coface Global Solution, working at its Hong Kong and Singapore offices between 2015 and 2020. He previously held the position of regional new business manager at QBE Insurance and was a senior underwriter at Atradius.
With nearly 20 years of experience in trade credit insurance across the Asia Pacific, Yau will support the growth of Coface’s mid-market portfolio and its Southeast Asia growth strategy. He will report to Peter Solomon, chief commercial officer, Coface Asia Pacific.
Commenting on the appointment, Solomon said Yau’s expertise in trade credit insurance, his market reputation and previous experience at Coface make him an asset to the company and support the insurer’s growth ambitions in the region.
Yau’s move follows the appointment of Agnes Chan as regional head of partnerships for Asia Pacific in April. In the same month, Darren Chan was promoted to country manager for Malaysia and head of the Philippines.

