Prudential chief executive Mike Wells reportedly said he was open to increasing investment in their Chinese joint venture, in yet another sign of continued interest in the mainland opening financial sector.
The London-headquartered insurer is ramping up its focus on Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and mainland China where it has a joint venture with brokerage giant Citic to provide insurance and wealth management services.
«We’ve been very open that we’d like to invest more in our China JV with Citic,» said Prudential’s Mike Wells in an interview during Bloomberg’s Singapore forum this week.
«It’s one of the most successful and fastest-growing life companies in China,» Wells said. «We’re very excited about that and I’d love to own more of it and they know that.»
Retirement Business
According to Wells, there is a strong insurance opportunity in the retirement business in China with 300 million people expected to be 65 years or older by 2025.
«This private pension pillar is critical for the government to get right and that’s our sweet spot.»
No M&A in Sight
Prudential’s openness to increased investments in its China joint venture follows the spinoff of its operations elsewhere including the U.S., where it completed a demerger two months ago.
And for now, Wells said that large acquisitions are not on the agenda of Prudential which has already invested about $6 billion in Asia in the past eight years both organically and through mostly distribution-related acquisitions.
«There’s really not anything big on the horizon that we see,» he said.
