(Bloomberg) –Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. is considering selling its life insurance business in Southeast Asia, which people familiar with the matter say could be valued at around $1 billion in its core operations.
The Tokyo-listed company is working with an advisor to gauge investor interest in its life insurance units in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private. According to sources, Tokio Marine prefers to find a buyer for all assets, although it is considering a deal in parts.
The formal sale process could begin in the coming months, one of the sources said. The review is at an early stage, People said, and Tokio Marine may decide to keep the assets longer.
Tokio Marine is always considering disciplined mergers and acquisitions and is reviewing its business portfolio as a whole to improve profitability and achieve sustainable growth, a spokesman said in response to an inquiry from Bloomberg News. Nothing has been decided at this point, the spokesman said, declining to comment further.
Tokio Marine was founded in 1879 as Japan’s first non-life insurance company. A year later, the company began direct underwriting operations in London, Paris and New York. It currently offers life and non-life insurance and operates in 46 countries outside of Japan. International business accounts for 54% of its profits.
Tokio Marine operates eight property and casualty insurance companies and five insurance companies in eight Asian countries outside of Japan, as shown on their website. The net written premium of the insurance business in Asia, excluding Japan, increased by 38.9% to about 103 billion yen ($767 million) for the quarter ended December 2022. In the same quarter, the insurance company made a profit of 900 million yen, about 7%. Tokio Marine arrived in the region, excluding Japan.
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