Howden to acquire strategic stake in Malene Insurance

KUALA LUMPUR: Howden, part of the Hyperion Insurance Group and the world’s largest independent retail broker, has agreed to acquire a strategic stake in Malene Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd.

Malene is a leading Malaysian independent niche broker in the energy and power sector and a takaful specialist.

Malene will join Howden’s other Malaysian business, CIMB Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd, under one common locally-incorporated holding company, HBG Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

HBG Malaysia has agreed to buy the remaining 51 per cent in CIMB Howden that was held by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s subsidiary, CIG Bhd. Both CIMB Howden and Malene will be rebranded as “Howden”.

CIMB Howden, which is a specialist in financial lines, corporate risks and employee benefits brokering, will be renamed Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd and Malene Insurance, a niche broker with a strong portfolio of corporate clients within the power, oil and gas, transportation and ports sectors, will be known as Howden Takaful Brokers Sdn Bhd.

Howden Broking Group chief executive officer (CEO) Jose Manuel Gonzalez said: “Investing in the right partners in Asia is a key pri-ority for Howden as we continue to broaden our distribution of specialist solutions for clients. By partnering with Malene, we build on our existing Islamic finance expertise in the Middle East and move closer towards building a leading global takaful capability.”

Goh Chye Huat, regional CEO of Howden Asia, said: “Our latest investments in Malaysia are an important step in achieving our vision of being a leader in each of the markets that we operate in across Asia.”