Asia Insurance M&A Holds Firm

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the insurance industry in the Asia Pacific region are continuing at a healthy pace. There were 59 completed transactions in 2014, up from 55 in the previous year. This was in line with the wider trend which saw deal-making worldwide up year-on-year, from 319 to 384.

In recent years Asia Pacific has avoided the fluctuations in deal activity that have been very much evident in other parts of the world. In part this is due to the fact that the region was not as badly affected by the global financial crisis as key markets in the western hemisphere but also because it benefits from being made up of a wide number of economies at different stages of development.

This fact was underlined in 2014 with mature and developing markets alike seeing a range of M&A activity. Australia and Japan led the way with nine deals each followed by South Korea and Malaysia with seven, China (five) and Indonesia (two) and it is evident that there are a number of transaction drivers at play.

Asia remains an attractive proposition for insurers looking for growth opportunities. With soft pricing persisting and opportunities in mature insurance markets difficult to come by, diversification through acquisition into new sectors or distribution channels is a key driver of transaction activity in the region. The second half of 2014 saw a number of deals that were indicative of this trend. ACE acquired a stake in Thailand's Siam Commercial Samaggi while BNP Paribas agreed a deal with ERGO Daum Direct Insurance of South Korea. Two German companies were also involved in deals in the region: Allianz bought Australia's state-owned Territory Insurance Office and ERGO International AG purchased Singapore's SHC Insurance Pte Ltd.

Regulatory reforms are proving to be another key driver of transaction activity. Regulators in many markets are looking for fewer, stronger insurers that hold the appropriate levels of capital and are encouraging new players to enter local markets via acquisition rather than as a...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT