Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance
(MSI), Japan’s third-largest general insurer, has set its sights on
Indonesia’s life market with the proposed purchase of a 50% stake
in Asuransi Jiwa Sinarmas (Sinarmas Life) from Indonesian
conglomerate Sinar Mas.
Acquisition of the stake
forms part of MSI’s strategy to expand in the Asian life insurance
market, MSI said in a release.
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On receipt of approval from
Indonesian regulators, MSI will buy new shares in Sinarmas Life for
a cash consideration of ¥67.2bn ($825m), which will leave it and
Sinar Mas each holding a 50% stake in what will become Sinarmas
MSIG Life.
According to MSI, Sinarmas
Life was the third-largest of Indonesia’s 43 life insurers in 2010,
based on its premium income of ¥89.1bn. Sinarmas Life reported net
income of ¥5.2bn in 2010, achieved a 36% return on equity and ended
the year with total assets of ¥109.9bn.
MSI has, of late, actively
pursued expansion in Asia. Its biggest move prior to Sinarmas Life
was the acquisition of Hong Leong Assurance, Malaysia’s
sixth-largest life insurer, for ¥25.4bn in June 2010.
This followed MSI’s purchase
of a 7% stake in Chinese life insurer Sinatay Life for ¥2.4bn in
April 2010.
