Generali has completed the acquisition of the majority stake in the joint ventures of AXA and Affin in Malaysia and thus becomes one of the leading Non-Life insurers in the country.
The details of the operations in Malaysia
The Lions company acquired a 70% stake in the AXA Affin Life Insurance joint venture (49% by AXA and 21% by Affin) and an approximately 53% stake in the AXA Affin General Insurance joint venture (49,99% by AXA and 3 % from Affin). The group also increased the . from 49% to 100%. investment in MPI Generali Insurans Berhad, acquiring the shares held by Multi-Purpose Capital Holdings Berhad (MPHB Capital), a joint venture partner in Malaysia.
Generali plans to integrate the businesses of MPI Generali and AXA Affin Generali Insurance to eventually hold the 70% of the company resulting from the integration. Affin Bank will hold 30% of both companies, Life and P&C.
Towards the launch of a single brand
“All companies will continue to operate under their current brands until a single, common brand is launched,”General Malaysia“expected in early 2023,” reads a note from the group.
Thanks to these operations, Generali will become one of the leading insurers on the Malaysian market, also entering the country's Life business. Generali has also stipulated an exclusive bancassurance agreement with Affin Bank for the sale of conventional products in the Non-Life and Life classes.
Jaime Anchústegui Melgarejo, Generali's International CEO, said: “The operations are perfectly in line with Generali's 'Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth' strategy, which plans to strengthen our leadership position in high-potential markets. We are now one of the largest P&C insurers in Malaysia, a country with strong growth prospects thanks to a developing economy and a still relatively low insurance penetration rate”.
Rob Leonardi, Regional Officer of Generali Asia, added: “Thanks to the commitment and dedication of our people we are happy to start the next phase of consolidating our position in Malaysia, a market with high growth potential for Generali in Asia. It is a unique opportunity to pool our talents and resources to create a single brand that will have the scale, breadth and capabilities to compete more effectively and profitably in the Malaysian insurance market by offering a better service. value to our customers”.
HSBC acted as exclusive financial adviser to Generali for the operations; Wong & Partners as legal advisor.
