Meiji Yasuda, AIA keen on ANZ unit
SYDNEY/SINGAPORE/TOK YO: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group’s (ANZ) sale of its life insurance and wealth business, which had been valued at US$3.33 billion (RM14.75 billion) by the bank, was attracting interest from Japan’s Meiji Yasuda and Hong Kong-based AIA Group, said sources.
Meiji Yasuda was attracted to ANZ’s wealth business as well as its life insurance arm, said a source close to the unlisted company.
The wealth division’s relatively low-risk, fee-based superannuation business was appealing, said the source.
AIA could scale up its existing Australian business significantly if it buys the ANZ business, said two people familiar with AIA’s interest.
AIA’s current Australian premium income was small relative to its other markets, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.
The ANZ assets have an embedded value of A$4.5 billion (RM14.75 billion), according to ANZ’s recent results.
Chief executive Shayne Elliott this month indicated the bank was seeking a price at least that high. Australia is an attractive market for foreign insurers because the population and economy are growing faster than in most other developed markets and the regulatory regime was more stable than in emerging markets, said analysts.
Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Holdings, which is Australia’s largest life insurer after acquiring Tower Australia (now called TAL) for A$1.2 billion in 2011, was not interested in bidding, said a source.
The ANZ unit, called OnePath, has a 10 per cent share of the life insurance market, making it the sixthbiggest player In Australia.
ANZ’s Australian insurance and wealth business reported a full-year cash profit of A$327 million for the year ended September 30, down 24 per cent from a year earlier, though the result was after restructuring and software charges. Reuters