FWD Group

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FWD Group
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)
Ronald Arculli (chairman)
Simeon Preston (COO)
Jon Nielsen (CFO)[2]
AUMUSD $63 billion (2021)[1]
OwnerRichard Li, Swiss Re, GIC Ventures, RRJ Capital, Hopu Investments[3]
Number of employees
6,100 (2021[1])
ParentPacific Century Group
Websitefwd.com

FWD Group is a multinational insurance company based in Hong Kong.[4][5][6][7] Founded in 2013[8] as the insurance arm of Pacific Century Group, FWD Group sells life and medical insurance, general insurance and employee benefits[9] in Asia.[10] The company had USD$50.9 billion in assets under management in 2020[3] and in 2021 was managing USD$63 billion in assets. On June 17, 2021, FWD filed for a US IPO. FWD currently operates in Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia.[1]

History[]

2013-18[]

FWD Financial Centre in 2013 in Hong Kong.

Richard Li of Pacific Century Group formed FWD Group in 2013[8] after purchasing ING Group’s insurance and pension units in Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand for US$2.1 billion.[5][10] Swiss Re bought a 12.3% stake in FWD Group in 2013[3] for $425 million.[11] Huynh Thanh Phong joined as CEO in 2013.[12] The company then expanded into the Philippines in 2014 and Indonesia in 2015. Expanding into three more countries in 2016,[4][8] that year FWD Group acquired Shenton Insurance in Singapore,[9] also purchasing a unit from Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. in Vietnam[8] for $35 million.[13] In late 2016, FWD agreed to buy AIG's Fuji Life Insurance Co. in Japan.[8] By April 2017, FWD had[14] $24.4 billion in assets under management[4] and sponsored the Clockenflap music festival.[15] In 2018 FWD agreed to purchase an Indonesian life insurance venture, PT Commonwealth Life, from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $300 million.[16] When the acquisition completed in 2020, PT Commonwealth Life was rebranded PT FWD Life Indonesia.[17] FWD Group also purchased HSBC’s stake in a Malaysian insurance joint venture in 2018,[16] acquiring 49% of HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia),[13] now renamed FWD Takaful (Malaysia).[18]

2019-21[]

In June 2019, FWD Group purchased MetLife's business in Hong Kong[7][3] reportedly for around $400 million.[10] 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."[7][19] FWD also launched its Malaysian takaful (Islamic insurance) market at the end of July 2019.[20] 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,[6] in November 2019, FWD agreed to acquire Vietcombank-Cardif Life Insurance, a joint venture between Vietcombank and BNP Paribas Cardif,[21] for $400 million.[13] FWD announced in December 2019 it would exit its group medical insurance business in Singapore by December 2020.[22][23]

FWD Tower in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In March 2020, Prudential acquired a bancassurance partnership in Thailand from FWD Group for $753 million.[24] The following month, FWD Vietnam Life became the largest life insurer in Vietnam by charter capital.[25] In April 2020 FWD Group launched a Covid-19 Charity Drive.[26] 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.[27] By September 2020, press reported that FWD Group was considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong.[3] That month, FWD Insurance purchased a stake in IPP Financial Advisers.[28] In 2020, FWD Group had $50.9 billion in assets under management and 7.5 million customers, with 6,200 employees in Asia.[3] In 2020, the company had $9.5 billion in revenue, with operating tax before profit at $125 million.[29] In 2021, FWD Group had 6,100 employees and $62.6 billion in assets under management, as well as 9.8 million customers.[12] On June 17, 2021, FWD filed for a US IPO, and would possibly seek $2 to $3 billion from the share sale, according to reports.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e ["https://www.ft.com/content/bcc55200-fe31-421d-8b27-fca0bc969a9a "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 d e f "Richard Li's FWD Plans Up to $3 Billion Hong Kong IPO - Bloomberg". 23 September 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c "Upstart Hong Kong insurer FWD seeks a 'pan-Asian' reach". Nikkei Asia. 28 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Hong Kong Insurer FWD Group Eyes Singapore Listing". Insurance Journal. July 31, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Soon, Stella (September 20, 2019). "Asian insurer FWD is expanding aggressively in Asia". CNBC.
  7. ^ a b c "Richard Li's FWD acquires life insurance unit of Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank". South China Morning Post. July 1, 2019.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b Hermesauto (4 December 2019). "FWD to pull out of group medical insurance business in Singapore". The Straits Times.
  10. ^ a b c "Richard Li's FWD Group acquiring an Asian insurance empire". www.ft.com. 28 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Pacific Century sells FWD stake to reinsurer". South China Morning Post. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 2021-03-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ a b "FWD's Huynh Thanh Phong - 'You have to find the right way to connect'"; FT
  13. ^ a b c "FWD Group 'close to acquiring Vietcombank' for $400m". www.internationalinvestment.net. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Why FWD does not act like a traditional insurance brand and sponsors music festivals". The Drum. 23 November 2017.
  16. ^ a b Post, The Jakarta (24 October 2018). "FWD to bag CBA's Indonesia unit". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  17. ^ Post, The Jakarta (8 June 2020). "FWD Life rebrands business as acquisition completed". The Jakarta Post.
  18. ^ Ching, Ooi Tee (2019-03-26). "Salim Majid Zain now heads FWD Takaful | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  19. ^ Limited, Bangkok Post Public Company (30 March 2019). "SCB, FWD Group set to reach life insurance deal". Bangkok Post.
  20. ^ "Brand launch for Takaful provider | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. 29 July 2019.
  21. ^ Vu, Anshuman Daga, Khanh (12 November 2019). "FWD in insurance distribution deal with Vietcombank bank, buys venture". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  22. ^ Hermesauto (4 December 2019). "FWD to pull out of group medical insurance business in Singapore". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  23. ^ "FWD Singapore to drop group medical insurance". www.internationalinvestment.net. 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  24. ^ "Prudential signs $753 mn deal with FWD Group". mint. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  25. ^ Review, Asia Insurance (28 April 2020). "Vietnam: FWD group strengthens life business". Asia Insurance Review. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  26. ^ "FWD Insurance enhances coverage with Covid-19 Assist – The Manila Times". www.manilatimes.net. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  27. ^ "FWD to buy stake in Indonesian life insurer for about US$300 million". South China Morning Post. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  28. ^ "FWD Insurance buys minority stake in financial advisory company". www.spglobal.com. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  29. ^ "Tycoon Richard Li Insurer FWD Files for $2 Billion U.S. IPO"; Bloomberg

External links[]

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