Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is considering buying a stake in the general insurance unit of Malaysia’s Kurnia Asia, the Star newspaper reported today.
According to the reports, Kurnia Asia will likely announce the deal at the end of this week and use the sale of Kurnia Insurans to venture into a new business or acquire assets.
The paper said the size of the deal would be around 1.8-2.2 billion ringgit (GBP360 – 443 million) if Kurnia also sold its general insurance arm at around 2.5 to 3 times the value of the company.
The size of IAG’s stake was not commented on, but foreign ownership of local insurers in Malaysia is capped at 70 per cent.
IAG has built up a strong presence in Malaysia and Thailand and has been looking to expand it’s business presence in the rest of Asia. The company’s chief executive, Mike Wilkins, wants to double the gross written premium contribution from Asia to 10 percent by 2016.
SMH
