FWD Group
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial services (insurance)
Founded2013 in Hong Kong
FounderRichard Li
Headquarters
Hong Kong
Areas served
Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia[1]
Key people
  • Huynh Thanh Phong (CEO)
  • Frederick Ma (chairman)
  • Simeon Preston (COO)
  • Jon Nielsen (CFO)
  • Binayak Dutta (Managing Director, Emerging Markets, and Group Chief Distribution Officer)[2]
AUMUS$63 billion (2021)[1]
OwnerApollo Global Management, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Huatai Securities, Li Ka Shing Foundation, Metro Pacific Investments and Pacific Century Group[1]
Number of employees
6,100 (2021[1])
ParentPacific Century Group
Websitefwd.com

FWD Group is a multinational insurance company based in Hong Kong.[3][4][5][6] Founded in 2013[7] as the insurance arm of Pacific Century Group, FWD Group sells life and medical insurance, general insurance and employee benefits[8] in Asia.[9] The company had USD$50.9 billion in assets under management in 2020[10] and in 2021 was managing US$63 billion in assets. On March 13, 2023, FWD Group refiled its Main Board listing application with The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.[11] The initial filing was made on February 28, 2022.[12] In 2023, FWD celebrated its 10th anniversary, and currently operates in Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.[1]

History

2013-18

FWD Financial Centre in 2013 in Hong Kong.

Richard Li of Pacific Century Group formed FWD Group in 2013[7] after purchasing ING Group’s insurance and pension units in Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand for US$2.1 billion.[4][9] Swiss Re bought a 12.3% stake in FWD Group in 2013[10] for $425 million.[13] Huynh Thanh Phong joined as CEO in 2013.[14] The company then expanded into the Philippines in 2014 and Indonesia in 2015. Expanding into three more countries in 2016,[3][7] that year FWD Group acquired Shenton Insurance in Singapore,[8] also purchasing a unit from Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. in Vietnam[7] for $35 million.[15] In late 2016, FWD agreed to buy AIG's Fuji Life Insurance Co. in Japan.[7] By April 2017, FWD had[16] $24.4 billion in assets under management[3] and sponsored the Clockenflap music festival.[17] In 2018 FWD agreed to purchase an Indonesian life insurance venture, PT Commonwealth Life, from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $300 million.[18] When the acquisition completed in 2020, PT Commonwealth Life was rebranded PT FWD Life Indonesia.[19] FWD Group also purchased HSBC’s stake in a Malaysian insurance joint venture in 2018,[18] acquiring 49% of HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia),[15] now renamed FWD Takaful (Malaysia).[20]

2019-23

In June 2019, FWD Group purchased MetLife's business in Hong Kong[6][10] reportedly for around $400 million.[9] That month, FWD Group agreed to buy SCB Life Assurance, the life insurance business of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, for $3 billion, "reflecting the largest insurance deal in Southeast Asia in terms of value."[6][21] FWD also launched its Malaysian takaful (Islamic insurance) market at the end of July 2019.[22] By August 2019, FWD had applied for a license to enter a joint venture in China. Having spent $6 billion on mergers and acquisitions since its founding,[5] in November 2019, FWD agreed to acquire Vietcombank-Cardif Life Insurance, a joint venture between Vietcombank and BNP Paribas Cardif,[23] for $400 million.[15] FWD announced in December 2019 it would exit its group medical insurance business in Singapore by December 2020.[24][25]

In March 2020, Prudential acquired a bancassurance partnership in Thailand from FWD Group for $753 million.[26] The following month, FWD Vietnam Life became the largest life insurer in Vietnam by charter capital.[27] In April 2020 FWD Group launched a Covid-19 Charity Drive.[28] In June 2020, FWD Group purchased a minority stake in the life insurance arm of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), PT Asuransi BRI Life, for a reported $300 million.[29] By September 2020, press reported that FWD Group was considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong.[10] That month, FWD Insurance purchased a stake in IPP Financial Advisers.[30] In 2020, FWD Group had $50.9 billion in assets under management and 7.5 million customers, with 6,200 employees in Asia.[10]

In 2022, FWD Group's Value of New Business reached US$823 million, up 29% compared to 2021, and it's segmental adjusted operating profit before tax was US$334 million, representing an 83% increase over the previous year.[31][32][11]

FWD Group has 6,100 employees and $63 billion in assets under management, and as of 2023 approximately 10 million customers across 10 markets.[14][1]

In February 2023, FWD Group announced an investment in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad (Gibraltar BSN) to enter the Malaysian life insurance market. Together with other investors, FWD Group will acquire 70% stake from The Prudential Insurance Company of America, the wholly owned subsidiary of US-based NYSE-listed Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI).[33]

On March 13, 2023, FWD refiled for a Hong Kong IPO with total private placement amounting to US$1.825 billion since December 2021.[34]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li’s FWD to raise up to $3bn in US IPO"; FT
  2. "Our Team;" FWD Group
  3. 1 2 3 "Upstart Hong Kong insurer FWD seeks a 'pan-Asian' reach". Nikkei Asia. 28 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Hong Kong Insurer FWD Group Eyes Singapore Listing". Insurance Journal. July 31, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Soon, Stella (September 20, 2019). "Asian insurer FWD is expanding aggressively in Asia". CNBC.
  6. 1 2 3 "Richard Li's FWD acquires life insurance unit of Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank". South China Morning Post. July 1, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "AIG Agrees to Sell Japan Life Business to Hong Kong's FWD Group". Carrier Management. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  8. 1 2 Hermesauto (4 December 2019). "FWD to pull out of group medical insurance business in Singapore". The Straits Times.
  9. 1 2 3 "Richard Li's FWD Group acquiring an Asian insurance empire". www.ft.com. 28 June 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Richard Li's FWD Plans Up to $3 Billion Hong Kong IPO - Bloomberg". 23 September 2020.
  11. 1 2 "Billionaire Li's FWD Filing HK IPO Application Again, Sources Say". Wall Street Journal. March 13, 2023.
  12. "Billionaire Richard Li's FWD Files for Hong Kong IPO". Wall Street Journal. February 28, 2022.
  13. "Pacific Century sells FWD stake to reinsurer". South China Morning Post. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  14. 1 2 "FWD's Huynh Thanh Phong - 'You have to find the right way to connect'"; FT
  15. 1 2 3 "FWD Group 'close to acquiring Vietcombank' for $400m". www.internationalinvestment.net. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  16. Daga, Sumeet Chatterjee, Anshuman (2017-04-19). "Thailand's Siam Commercial in exclusive talks with FWD for $3 billion insurance sale: sources". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-04.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. "Why FWD does not act like a traditional insurance brand and sponsors music festivals". The Drum. 23 November 2017.
  18. 1 2 "FWD to bag CBA's Indonesia unit". The Jakarta Post. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  19. "FWD Life rebrands business as acquisition completed". The Jakarta Post. 8 June 2020.
  20. Ching, Ooi Tee (2019-03-26). "Salim Majid Zain now heads FWD Takaful | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  21. "SCB, FWD Group set to reach life insurance deal". Bangkok Post. 30 March 2019.
  22. "Brand launch for Takaful provider | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. 29 July 2019.
  23. Vu, Anshuman Daga, Khanh (12 November 2019). "FWD in insurance distribution deal with Vietcombank bank, buys venture". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-04.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. Hermesauto (4 December 2019). "FWD to pull out of group medical insurance business in Singapore". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  25. "FWD Singapore to drop group medical insurance". www.internationalinvestment.net. 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  26. "Prudential signs $753 mn deal with FWD Group". mint. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  27. "Vietnam: FWD group strengthens life business". Asia Insurance Review. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  28. "FWD Insurance enhances coverage with Covid-19 Assist – The Manila Times". www.manilatimes.net. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  29. "FWD to buy stake in Indonesian life insurer for about US$300 million". South China Morning Post. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  30. "FWD Insurance buys minority stake in financial advisory company". www.spglobal.com. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  31. "Hong Kong Tycoon's FWD Nears Filing for $1 Billion IPO". Bloomberg. February 27, 2022.
  32. "Tycoon Richard Li Insurer FWD Files for $2 Billion U.S. IPO"; Bloomberg
  33. "FWD enters Malaysian life insurance with Gibraltar BSN investment". Insurance Business. February 21, 2023.
  34. "Life Insurer FWD Refiles Hong Kong Listing Application"; AM Best
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.