FWD Group is finalizing talks to buy MetLife's Hong Kong insurance unit so it could boost its presence in the city.
FWD Group could be concluding its discussions to buy MetLife in the next few weeks, «Bloomberg» reported, quoting people familiar with the matter. The deal could value MetLife Hong Kong at under $400 million, priced close to its embedded value, or a measure of the value of its insurance contracts.
Insurance products are popular among mainland Chinese customers because they are seen as offshore investments that can help diversify their assets and hedge against the volatility in the renminbi. MetLife's Asia business saw adjusted earnings rise 9 percent in the first quarter due to growth in South Korea and China. In May, it also recorded strong momentum during the period in Japan.
String of Acquisitions
FWD Group, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li, has been buying insurance assets across Asia, agreeing in October to acquire control of Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Indonesian life insurance arm. In 2017, it bought American International Group's Japanese life unit, after earlier doing deals in Singapore and Vietnam.
Earlier this year, FWD reached a preliminary pact with Siam Commercial Bank on a potential life-insurance partnership.
