FWD to acquire majority stake in Gibraltar BSN to foray into Malaysian life insurance market

FWD Group Holdings, a pan-Asian life insurance business, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad to enter the Malaysian life insurance market.

The stake is being divested by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Prudential Financial.

Under the agreement, FWD Group and other investors will collectively have a 70% stake in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad while Malaysia’s Bank Simpanan Nasional will continue to own the outstanding 30% stake.

Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad has eight branches, a nationwide agency force, and more than 400 branches belonging to Bank Simpanan Nasional.

Huynh Thanh Phong — FWD Group Executive Director and Group CEO said: “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.

“With these strategic developments, we also substantially complete our footprint across key Southeast Asia markets in the 10th anniversary year for FWD Group.”

FWD Group to acquire majority stake in Gibraltar BSN to foray into Malaysian life insurance market. Photo courtesy of Rantemario/Wikimedia Commons.

Post-closing, FWD Group will partner with Bank Simpanan Nasional to further develop and grow Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad.

FWD Group said that it anticipates rebranding the Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad business in the future.

Binayak Dutta — FWD Group Managing Director of Emerging Markets and Group Chief Distribution Officer said: “Our partnership with BSN [Bank Simpanan Nasional] underscores our 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.”

The deal is anticipated to complete in Q2 2023.

In March 2019, FWD Group forayed into the Malaysian market to offer family takaful products, including term life, cancer, critical illness, hospital cash benefit, and medical protection.