FAST NEWS: FWD enters Malaysian life insurance market via acquisition

The latest: FWD Group Holdings Ltd. announced on Monday it has completed its purchase of a majority stake, along with other investors, in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, marking its entry into the Malaysian life insurance market.

Looking up: The company entered the Malaysian market back in March 2019 with an Islamic insurance business. Its added coverage in a life insurance market of about 33 million people could help to generate significant additional revenue.

Take Note: FWD, which also operates in the fast-growing Southeast Asian markets of Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia and Singapore, posted a 15% decline in premium and fee income and a non-GAAP adjusted loss of $823 million last year.

Digging Deeper: Established in 2013, FWD is a regional insurance company owned by Richard Li, the younger son of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, and currently operates in 10 Asian markets. Its main selling point is the growth potential of its Southeast Asian business, while its Hong Kong and Macau businesses are relatively weak. The company was originally rumored to be planning a listing in Singapore or the U.S. using a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), but eventually chose to list in Hong Kong to reduce the risk that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission might question it about possible Chinese regulatory interference in its business. The company made two applications to list in Hong Kong last year, but it has yet to succeed.

Market Reaction: Last month, FWD submitted its third listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is now rumored to be planning a $1 billion IPO, and aims to list its shares as early as the current quarter.

Translation by Jony Ho

To subscribe to Bamboo Works free weekly newsletter, click here