The exclusive 15-year partnership involves Prudential buying Thanachart Life Assurance Company, currently a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank, in its entirety for the sum of £358m on completion and a further payment of £10m payable a year later.
The purchase of Thanachart Life is still subject regulatory approval and the deal is expected to be concluded in the first quarter of 2013.
Prudential stated that its strategy is to focus on the markets of South East Asia, with Thailand’s life insurance market significant in size, comparable in premium terms to each of Indonesia and Malaysia. Yet life insurance penetration in Thailand remains low at only 2.7%, the insurer added.
Thanachart Bank has more thanr four million customers and 630 branches while Thanachart Life is a top-10 life insurer in Thailand with around one million in-force policies. In the twelve months to 30 June 2012, Thanachart Life’s profit after tax was £25m.
Tidjane Thiam, Prudential group chief executive, said: “We have had a long standing ambition to significantly increase our presence in Thailand, one of our key target markets in South East Asia.”
Thanachart Bank stated that its employees will get additional training and sales tools, while its customers will gain access to a comprehensive portfolio of insurance and savings products.
