(Jan 16): HSBC Holdings plc opened a strategic review of its insurance business in Singapore, as part of the group’s ongoing simplification globally.
The review will cover HSBC Life Singapore and “consider all options” for the insurance manufacturing business, with no decision made, it said in a statement, confirming a previous report by Bloomberg News.
The UK lender said that Singapore is a “priority market for the group” and that it will continue to offer insurance products to customers in the city. It’s focused on increasing leadership and market share in areas where it has “a clear competitive advantage” and where it has the greatest opportunities to grow and support its clients, it said.
The review comes about four years after the bank bought AXA Insurance Pte Ltd in Singapore under previous chief executive officer Noel Quinn to build a global wealth hub in the city and fuel its expansion across Southeast Asia.
Since taking over in 2024, CEO Georges Elhedery has undertaken the biggest overhaul of the bank in at least a decade, cutting management layers and thousands of jobs. HSBC has reorganised into four new divisions and exited some businesses once considered key to the lender’s future.
Elhedery is also doubling down on Hong Kong, the bank’s largest market, with a US$14 billion ($18 billion) buyout offer for Hang Seng Bank Ltd, which got the nod from minority shareholders this month.
See also: HSBC exploring sale of Singapore insurance business — Bloomberg
“HSBC’s potential sale of its Singapore life insurance business is likely to generate strong interest” from other global insurers, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Steven Lam and Grace Huang wrote in a note on Thursday.
HSBC shares rose as much as 1.6% in Hong Kong on Friday. The stock has gained 67% in the past 12 months.
The life insurance market in Singapore has attracted interest. In 2024, Allianz SE agreed to buy a majority stake in Singapore’s Income Insurance Ltd for about $2.2 billion. But it later withdrew the offer, after the proposed deal attracted public outcry, prompting authorities to block the deal.
See also: Prudential launches US$1.2 bil share buyback programme
In March 2024, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co also completed its purchase of a 35.5% stake of SingLife for $1.6 billion.
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