Malaysia: FWD completes acquisition of 49% stake in HSBC Amanah Takaful
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2019
Hong Kong-headquartered insurer FWD Group is now the largest shareholder of HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) after successfully acquiring a 49% stake in the Islamic insurance entity.
The new venture will be renamed FWD Takaful, according to a statement by the insurer. All existing takaful certificates issued under HSBC Amanah Takaful will continue to be honoured by FWD Takaful.
This operation in Malaysia marks FWD’s ninth market entry across the region.
“Malaysia represents another landmark market entry and strategic milestone in our journey,” said Mr Huynh Thanh Phong, FWD Group CEO.
“We see a huge potential for growth in Malaysia, and I’m excited to work together with our new team in Malaysia to grow our business and footprint through long-term investment and implementation of our customer-led strategy.”
Mr Salim Majid Zain has been appointed as CEO of FWD Takaful. He brings a wealth of industry experience and strong capabilities. Prior to joining FWD, Mr Salim led Zurich Takaful Malaysia as its CEO for 12 years where he was instrumental in leading it to become a significant composite takaful player in the market.
He said, “I’m really excited to be joining FWD Takaful and look forward to leading this exciting new chapter in Malaysia. There are significant market opportunities within the takaful sector in Malaysia for us. With the support of FWD Group’s executive team, I’m determined to achieve new milestones and success for our takaful business here together with my team.” M