KWAP narrows investment option list to Great Eastern, Prudential and AIA

KUALA LUMPUR: The Retirement Fund Inc’s (KWAP) has narrowed down its investment option to three foreign-owned insurance companies and it is in the midst of appointing an adviser on the matter, said chief executive officer Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad.

“We are at the point of appointing an investment bank as our adviser. They (the insurers) are the big ones... Great Eastern, Prudential and AIA,” he said.

KWAP, Malaysia’s secondlargest pension fund, may also partner other institutional investors as the percentage of shares that must be owned in these insurance companies was relatively big.

“It (stake acquisition) depends on valuation. It may not be us goin alone.

“We may look at partnering with institutional investors, maybe two or three, but it depends because the stake is quite sizeable and there are so many around.

“Because of that, we may not necessarily buy one (company) for ourselves. Instead, we may buy smaller stakes, let’s say 10 per cent , 10 per cent, 10 per cent, respectively, (in these companies),” he said on the sidelines of the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit’s (Teraju) Super Series II event, here.

Wan Kamaruzaman said KWAP would appoint a financial reviser to conduct the selection process on its behalf so that it would not be deeply involved in the task.

Bank Negara Malaysia has instructed foreign insurers, namely Tokio Marine Holdings Inc, AIA Group Ltd, Great Eastern Holdings Ltd and Prudential, to comply with the foreign ownership rule that required overseas insurers to increase local shareholder participation to at least 30 per cent. Bernama