Following the signing of an agreement to invest in a majority stake in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad ("Gibraltar BSN"), FWD Group Holdings Limited ("FWD Group") will enter the Malaysian life insurance market.
FWD Group, and other investors, will together hold an effective 70% stake in Gibraltar BSN, which was sold by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, the wholly owned subsidiary of US-based NYSE-listed Prudential Financial Inc . Bank Simpanan Nasional ("BSN") will continue to hold the remaining 30% stake ownership in Gibraltar BSN. Post-completion, FWD Group will partner with BSN to further develop and grow Gibraltar BSN.
"We're creating a full-service offering in Malaysia and will be able to offer both family takaful and life insurance solutions in a rapidly growing market with huge long-term potential for growth. We're excited to bring our digitally-enabled products and services to more people in Malaysia," said Huynh Thanh Phong, Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of FWD Group.
"With these strategic developments, we also substantially complete our footprint across key Southeast Asia markets in the 10th anniversary year for FWD Group. Changing the way people feel about takaful and insurance remains the vision that guides our work."
Meanwhile, Binayak Dutta, FWD Group's Managing Director, Emerging Markets and Group Chief Distribution Officer, said that this partnership with BSN underscores the firm's "commitment to the Malaysian market and we look forward to playing our part in the growth and development of Malaysia's takaful and insurance sectors."
Expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, existing customers and distribution channels of Gibraltar BSN will not be affected by this investment and all existing policies will continue to be honoured. Customers can also continue to access the company's products and services using their preferred service channels. Additionally, existing customers and distribution channels of FWD Takaful will not be affected. FWD Group plans to rebrand the Gibraltar BSN business at a later date