Hong Leong and Mitsui forge $492 million insurance partnership

Malaysia's Hong Leong Financial Group HLFG and Japan's Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co MSI on Friday agreed to merge their non-life insurance businesses. At the same time, HLFG will sell a 30% stake in its life insurance business to MSI. The agreement is made up of two separate transactions, together valued at M$1.6 billion $492 million, according to sources familiar with the deal.

Andrew Zeissink, managing director and head of financial institutions for Asia-Pacific at HSBC, which advised HLFG, told FinanceAsia that the merged entity will become the second largest general insurance company in Malaysia after Kurnia Asia, measured by gross written premiums.

Hong Leong benefits from the increased scale of...