Etiqa may consider M&A to become largest insurer

Friday October 21, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) insurance and takaful arm Mayban Ageas Holdings Bhd, better known by the brand name Etiqa, is keeping options open on expansion plans going forward, as it targets to become the country's largest insurer by 2015.

Etiqa, formed four years ago after a merger with Malaysia National Insurance Bhd and Takaful Nasional Sdn Bhd, is 69.05% owned by Maybank with the remainder stake owned by Ageas Insurance International. It distributes insurance and takaful products under the Etiqa brand name.At a media briefing to introduce Etiqa's new senior management line-up, its chief executive officer Hans de Cuyper said the insurer was open to growing either organically or via mergers and acquisitions (M&As), but this would depend on circumstances.

de Cuyper: ‘We believe it (the award of wealth management licences) may be by year-end.’caption

 

He said the insurer had concentrated on organic growth so far as it focused on the merger master plan. “If any potential acquisitions can add to our strength, fit into our financial ambitions and culture, then we may consider it.”.

The insurer targets to be the overall industry leader by 2015 through a strategy of maintaining its position as the largest takaful distributor and growing faster than the industry average for conventional life insurance.
“Based on our own extrapolation, we can be the largest insurer by 2015 by growing top line to RM7.5bil from RM4.3bil currently. That alone will be sufficient to be at the top,” de Cuyper said. The largest insurer by top line at the moment is Great Eastern Life.

De Cuyper said from now until the beginning of next year, the insurer would also be growing market share via the launch of various life and family insurance products. He said this was in line with the industry trend, which was seeing a shift towards more life and family products over general insurance. “Through Maybank's regional footprint, we can also distribute bancassurance and takaful products,” De Cuyper said. He said Etiqa was also gearing up for the award of wealth management licences under the private pension framework that was announced in Budget 2011. “We don't have any indication of when the licences will be given out but we believe it may be by year-end. We're working very hard on this,” de Cuyper said.

Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/21/business/9738557&sec=business