FWD, along with a group of investors, will buy a 70% stake in Gibraltar BSN from a subsidiary of New York-listed Prudential Financial Inc.
FWD plans to partner with Bank Simpanan to further develop and grow Gibraltar BSN. FWD entered Malaysia in 2019 as a provider of takaful products, including term life, critical illness, hospital cash benefit and medical protection. Malaysia is the fourth-largest life insurance market by premium in Southeast Asia.
The move in Malaysia follows FWD’s long-term strategy to expand across Southeast Asia. The company continues to work towards an IPO in Hong Kong this year, Bloomberg News has reported. It could seek to raise about $1 billion from the IPO.
The insurer’s value of new business rose 24.6% year over year to $405 million in the first half of 2022, on a constant exchange rate basis. While FWD reported an adjusted loss of $333 million for the six months ended June 30, its operating profit before tax jumped about 111% to $200 million from the same period in 2021.