FWD Group Holdings announced on May 19 it has refiled a Main Board listing application with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). In its prospectus, FWD said its Hong Kong (and Macau), Thailand (and Cambodia), Japan and Emerging Markets operations contributed 34.2%, 32.6%, 15.7% and 17.5%, respectively, of new business contractual service margin (new business CSM) in 2024.
Southeast Asia represents some of the fastest growing insurance markets in the world with an expanding but underinsured population, the prospectus said.
"Our Southeast Asia markets (comprising Thailand (and Cambodia), the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia) contributed approximately 50% of our new business CSM in 2024," the prospectus says.
FWD was ranked as a top five insurer and the top bancassurer within its Southeast Asia markets by annualised premium equivalent (APE) in 2023, according to NMG. FWD achieved 5.2 times growth of its APE in 2024 since its first full year of operations in 2014, growing from US$309 million in 2014 to US$1,916 million in 2024. Its APE increased by 18.6% on a constant exchange rate (CER) basis from 2023 to 2024.
FWD's distribution channels include bancassurance, agency, brokerage/IFA and others, which include digital commerce and other distribution channels. These channels contributed 46.6%, 15.2%, 31.8% and 6.5% respectively, of its value of new business (VNB) in 2024.
In 2024, FWD turned profitable after two years of net losses, with a net profit after minority interest of US$24 million.
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FWD is ranked 8th in Singapore with a 1.7% share of the insurance market.
