Zurich mulls Malaysia stake sale, IPO

Zurich Insurance is considering a sale of a share of its stake or initial public offering of its wholly-owned Malaysian life insurance unit.

This development comes at a time when foreign insurers have been mandated to divest stakes in their local units to 70 percent by Malaysia’s central bank last year in a bid to increase local participation in the industry.

British insurer Prudential is in non-exclusive talks to sell a 30 percent stake in its Malaysian unit to Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), Malaysia’s second-rated pension fund, in a deal worth USD435 million, Reuters reported last month.

Other insurers such as Great Eastern Holdings and Tokio Marine Holdings are also looking to find ways of divesting stakes in their Malaysian units and submit plans to the regulator before a June deadline.