King Wai Group and Manulife agree on acquisition of Manulife’s Thailand businesses
December 4, 2019
King Wai Group (KWG) and Manulife entered into agreement for KWG to acquire Manulife’s life insurance and asset management businesses in Thailand.
This transaction builds on an earlier acquisition by KWG of a general insurance business in Thailand and is part of its drive to digitize and reinforce its mission to be a technology-driven business.
KWG in Thailand will be well-positioned to provide a comprehensive suite of solutions to their customers.
Bangkok, Thailand – King Wai Group (Thailand) Public Company Limited (“KWG") and Manulife Financial Asia Limited (“Manulife”) today announced that the parties have entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Manulife’s life insurance and asset management businesses in Thailand. The transaction was signed today subject to regulatory approvals.
This transaction builds upon the 2018 acquisition by KWG of a general insurer in Thailand (now known as King Wai Insurance Public Company Limited), allowing KWG to enter Thailand’s burgeoning insurance market.
As part of KWG’s drive to digitize and reinforce its mission to be a technology-driven business, the acquisition of Manulife’s Thailand businesses enables KWG to expand their insurance offering to include the Kingdom of Thailand’s growing life insurance and asset management markets, which will result in a more comprehensive offering to its customers.
Antonio Chan, Vice Chairman of KWG, said: “Thailand’s insurance industry is digitizing at a rapid pace. This acquisition provides a strong platform for us to establish KWG as a leading player in the digital insurance market in Thailand.” Chan added: “We are well positioned to scale the business and bring new and innovative solutions to customers via new digital services, diversifying our product range, and enhancing distribution.”
Manulife has been in Thailand for over 15 years and has a strong legacy in Asia. The Company recently announced expansion plans into India, subject to regulatory approval, and Myanmar.
“Manulife has operated in Asia for over 120 years, and recently expanded our footprint with entry into India and Myanmar, in line with our focus on scale and scalable markets,” said Anil Wadhwani, President and Chief Executive Officer at Manulife Asia. “We believe King Wai Group will take the business forward, alongside its other businesses in Thailand.”
About King Wai Group (KWG)
King Wai Group (KWG) is an Asia leading conglomerate with customer-centric core values and contribution to social sustainability. KWG's core businesses cover property development, financial services, e-commerce and supply chain, through its global operations in China Mainland, China Hong Kong, ASEAN and EU countries.
With the customer wellbeing in mind, the Group's property development projects in China Mainland have achieved national and global green building awards. The Group will continue to bring world-class development projects and quality products to customers globally, and contribute to the prosperity and sustainability in local society.
About King Wai Insurance Public Company Limited (KWI)
King Wai Insurance Public Company Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of King Wai Group, a leading business conglomerate based in Hong Kong (founded by Dr. King Wai Chan). King Wai Group acquired 98.24% of the shares in QBE Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited on May 16, 2018. Following the transaction completion, the company has changed its name to "King Wai Insurance Public Company Limited." For more information: www.kwgi.co.th/EN/home.
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2018, we had more than 34,000 employees, over 82,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 28 million customers. As of September 30, 2019, we had over $1.2 trillion (US$881 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $29.8 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States are where we have served customers for more than 100 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.