FWD Group acquires majority stake in Gibraltar BSN

Pan-Asian life insurance company FWD Group Holdings has completed its majority investment in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, marking its entrance into the Malaysian life insurance market.

Earlier this year, FWD Group announced that it would buy an effective 70% stake in Gibraltar BSN alongside other investors, after U.S.-based Prudential Insurance sold its share. FWD Group and other investors have completed the acquisition, leaving the remaining 30% stake ownership in Gibraltar BSN with Bank Simpanan Nasional.

As a result of the investment, FWD Group will now offer a full suite of insurance products in the Malaysian insurance market, which the group first penetrated in March 2019 as a provider of family takaful products – or Sharia-compliant insurance alternatives – including term life, critical illness, cancer, hospital cash benefit, and medical protection. Its offering will now span both life insurance and family takaful products.

“Our partnership with [Bank Simpanan Nasional] underscores our commitment to the Malaysian market, and we look forward to playing our part in the growth and development of Malaysia’s takaful and insurance sectors,” FWD Group managing director for emerging markets and group chief distribution officer Binayak Dutta said of the investment. “Since establishment, our business in Malaysia has gone from strength to strength. We grew gross written contributions by 173% in our first full year of operation, established our regional technology and innovation hub in Kuala Lumpur, and partnered with a leading social enterprise in Malaysia to develop Fun(d) for Life, a financial literacy programme supporting over 4,200 individuals.”

FWD Group has assured existing Gibraltar BSN and FWD takaful customers that their policies and preferred service channels would not be affected by the deal, although it had a rebranding strategy for Gibraltar BSN in the works, to be revealed at a later date.