By Cynthia Koons, P.R. Venkat and Abhrajit Gangopadhyay
Insurers Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.T), MetLife Inc. (MET)
and ACE Insurance are among the shortlisted bidders for a majority
stake in the life insurance division of Malaysian banking group
AMMB Holdings Bhd. (1015.KU), a deal that could be worth as much as
$600 million, people with knowledge of the sale process said.
The country's fifth-largest banking group kicked off the sale in
April with the aim of divesting up to 70% of its insurance
businesses AmLife Insurance Bhd. and AmFamily Takaful Bhd. The
company is working with the banking regulator, Bank Negara
Malaysia, and aims to complete the sale in the next three months,
the people said.
A representative from Bank Negara Malaysia declined to comment
on the process. Under Malaysian regulations, foreign equity
ownership in insurance companies is capped at 70%.
AMMB is seeking a partner with insurance expertise to help
expand its profitable insurance business. One of the two insurance
businesses, AmFamily Takaful Bhd, offers insurance compliant with
Islamic law, meaning policyholders get dividends instead of
interest. It is a valuable offering in Malaysia, where 60% of the
country's 29 million people are Muslim.
The sale is the latest in a string of transactions by foreign
players looking for a piece of Southeast Asia's financial industry.
Banks and insurers from developed markets like the U.S., Japan and
Canada have been looking to Southeast Asia for growth that they
can't find at home.
Incomes are rising in Southeast Asia, home to 600 million
people, and economic growth is buoyant compared to developed
markets.
-Jason Ng contributed to this story.
Write to Cynthia Koons at cynthia.koons@wsj.com P.R. Venkat at
venkat.pr@wsj.com and Abhrajit Gangopadhyay at
Abhrajit.Gangopadhyay@wsj.com