Thailand’s SCB Sells Life Insurance Business to FWD
FWD Group is acquiring the life insurance business of SCB (Siam Commercial Bank), SCB Life, for THB92.7b ($3b). Also, the two companies entered a Distribution Agreement to establish a long-term life bancassurance partnership. At completion, the transaction will be the largest ever life insurance transaction in Southeast Asia in terms of total value.
Under this arrangement, SCB will distribute FWD’s life insurance products to the Bank’s customers in Thailand, leveraging the Bank’s distribution channels for a period of 15 years.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the latter part of 2019 subject to certain conditions, such as obtaining regulatory approvals and approval by the Bank’s shareholders.
“The bancassurance business remains a key long-term strategic priority for us. The establishment of this partnership with FWD will help create significant long-term value for our customers, shareholders, employees, and other key stakeholders, bringing together the unique strengths of both SCB and FWD. In addition, FWD, as a leading regional insurer with best-in-class customer propositions, strong digital capabilities, and a highly experienced management team, shares our long-term growth aspirations for the life insurance business in Thailand and the value of customer-centricity, which underscore our commitment to clients and this partnership.” – Arthid Nanthawithaya, SCB Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Executive Committee.
“Our customers remain at the heart of all we do, and the key objective of this partnership will be to provide a market-leading and innovative product suite fulfilling the evolving savings and protection needs of consumers.” He added, “Both parties share a strong ambition and commitment to developing digital channels. We will continue to devote substantial investment in developing our digital platform, which will significantly enhance our digital capabilities and provide highly enhanced digital experiences to our customers in the future.” – Arak Sutivong, President of SCB.
“SCB is a leading bank in Thailand, with an extensive presence and deep local experience. We are fully committed to working with SCB and growing our business in Thailand. We are confident about our product capabilities and we are well aware of the needs and preferences of Thai banking customers. Through this collaboration, we will bring our combined product and digital capabilities to help customers achieve their financial goals and aspirations.” – Huynh Thanh Phong, Chief Executive Officer of FWD Group.
