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FWD Group

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FWD Group
Company 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

2010s

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]

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]

2020s

FWD Tower in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In March 2020, Prudential acquired a bancassurance partnership in Thailand from FWD Group for $753 million.[26] The same month, FWD Vietnam Life became the largest life insurer in Vietnam by charter capital.[27] 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.[28] By September 2020, press reported that FWD Group was considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong.[10] That month, the company purchased a stake in IPP Financial Advisers.[29] As of 2020, FWD Group had $50.9 billion in assets under management and 7.5 million customers.[10] By 2021, the company managed approximately US$63 billion in assets and had 6,100 employees in Asia.[30]

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

In 2023, the company entered the Malaysian life insurance market through an investment in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, which was renamed FWD Insurance Berhad. Alongside other investors, FWD Group acquired a stake from The Prudential Insurance Company of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of the US-based, NYSE-listed Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI).[33][34] On March 13, 2023, FWD refiled its Main Board listing application for its Hong Kong IPO, with total private placement amounting to US$1.825 billion since December 2021.[35] In May of the same year, the company appointed Sid Sankaran as a Managing director and it Chief Financial Officer (CFO).[36] In August, FWD Group received investment-grade credit ratings from Fitch Ratings and Moody’s. Fitch assigned FWD Group a long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of “BBB+” with a stable outlook; Moody’s assigned a Baa2 issuer rating to FWD Group with a positive outlook.[37]

For the year 2023, the company’s Value of New Business reached US$991 million, up 22% compared to 2022, and its operating profit after tax was US$372 million, up 27% from 2022.[38]

In March 2024, FWD completed an additional investment for a 21% stake in FWD Takaful Berhad, making it the majority shareholder with a 70% holding.[39] In May of the same year, the company launched a new health business, FWD HealthyMe, and appointed Dr. Sarah Salvilla as Chief Health Officer.[40]

Community involvement and corporate social responsibility

From 2017-2020, FWD Group was the title sponsor of the North Pole Marathon, supporting environmental protection efforts. The company also collaborated with EcoMatcher to plant forests in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li’s FWD to raise up to $3bn in US IPO"; FT
  2. ^ "Our Team;" FWD Group
  3. ^ a b c "Upstart Hong Kong insurer FWD seeks a 'pan-Asian' reach". Nikkei Asia. 28 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Hong Kong Insurer FWD Group Eyes Singapore Listing". Insurance Journal. July 31, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Soon, Stella (September 20, 2019). "Asian insurer FWD is expanding aggressively in Asia". CNBC.
  6. ^ a b c "Richard Li's FWD acquires life insurance unit of Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank". South China Morning Post. July 1, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e "AIG Agrees to Sell Japan Life Business to Hong Kong's FWD Group". Carrier Management. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  8. ^ a b Hermesauto (4 December 2019). "FWD to pull out of group medical insurance business in Singapore". The Straits Times.
  9. ^ a b c "Richard Li's FWD Group acquiring an Asian insurance empire". www.ft.com. 28 June 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Richard Li's FWD Plans Up to $3 Billion Hong Kong IPO - Bloomberg". 23 September 2020.
  11. ^ "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. ^ "FWD's Huynh Thanh Phong - 'You have to find the right way to connect'"; FT
  15. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "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 to buy stake in Indonesian life insurer for about US$300 million". South China Morning Post. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  29. ^ "FWD Insurance buys minority stake in financial advisory company". www.spglobal.com. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  30. ^ Lockett, Hudson (2021-06-17). "Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li's FWD to raise up to $3bn in US IPO". Financial Times.
  31. ^ "Hong Kong Tycoon's FWD Nears Filing for $1 Billion IPO". Bloomberg. February 27, 2022.
  32. ^ Baigorri, Manuel (2021-06-17). "Tycoon Richard Li Insurer FWD Files for $2 Billion U.S. IPO". www.bloomberg.com.
  33. ^ "FWD enters Malaysian life insurance with Gibraltar BSN investment". Insurance Business. February 21, 2023.
  34. ^ Or, Mary (2023-04-04). "FWD Group acquires majority stake in Gibraltar BSN". www.insurancebusinessmag.com. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  35. ^ "Life Insurer FWD Refiles Hong Kong Listing Application". news.ambest.com. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  36. ^ "Sid Sankaran joins FWD Group Holdings". The Royal Gazette. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  37. ^ Cueto, Junalyn (2023-08-26). "FWD Group announces inaugural investment grade ratings". www.insurancebusinessmag.com. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  38. ^ "Insurer's profit jumps 27pc to US$372m". The Standard. 2024-03-17. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  39. ^ Jain, Saumya (2024-03-18). "FWD Group becomes majority stakeholder of FWD Takaful Berhad - Reinsurance News". Reinsurance News. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  40. ^ Libatique, Roxanne (2024-05-07). "FWD Group unveils new health business". Insurance Business. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  41. ^ "FWD continues North Pole marathon sponsorship and introduces Hong Kong celebrity team". Marketing-Interactive. 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
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