17 Feb 2012, The Star Malaysia (Page 28)

Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) will impose mandatory travel insurance on all its members starting March 1.

Six insurance service providers, namely Ace Jerneh Insurance Berhad, Chartis Malaysia Insurance Bhd, Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Bhd, Kurnia Insurance (M) Insurance Bhd, Lonpac Insurance (M) Bhd and RHB Insurance Bhd, have been appointed for this purpose. “Travel insurance does not only benefit insurance companies but more importantly travellers.

“With insurance, you can put your worries aside if you fall ill, lose your luggage, the trip is delayed or if a member travel agency absconds or becomes insolvent,” said MATTA president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun.

He said this at the launch of the outbound insurance scheme and appointment of the six partner insurance companies.

MATTA insurance sub-committee chairman John Tan said the association had been working with the Tourism Ministry and the insurance companies to come up with an affordable travel insurance scheme. “The insurance plans are among the most affordable and can be as low as RM10. The rates vary according to the duration of the trip and destination,” he said.

“Disciplinary action will be taken against MATTA members who do not comply,” he said, adding that travellers who did not want to buy an insurance package would have to sign a waiver.


Prudential Hires Merrill To Advise On ING Asia Bid
14 Feb 2012, The Star Malaysia (Page 68)

Seoul: Prudential Financial Inc, the No. 2US life insurer, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to advise on its possible bid for ING Groep NV’S Asian insurance operations, South Korean media reported, in what is potentially Asia’s second biggest insurance sale ever.

The Korea Economic Daily said that small local insurer Korea Life Insurance Co Ltd was also looking into a takeover bid for all of ING’S Asian insurance assets, citing unnamed industry sources.

Korea Life, which is already vying with Prudential for local peer Tong Yang Life Insurance Co Ltd, said earlier this month that it was reviewing the feasibility of bidding for ING’S Asia-pacific insurance operations.
Investment banks are competing hard for a role in the deal and a cut of an estimated Us$60mil in combined deal fees, according to consultancy Freeman & Co.

ING, which announced a lowerthan-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, may divest some of its Asian insurance or investment management operations separately, but such operations would be small, ING chief executive Jan Hommen said earlier.

AIA Group Ltd was expected to name Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley as advisers for a possible bid that could be worth more than Us$6bil for ING’S Asian insurance operations, sources told Reuters earlier. The South Korean office of Prudential declined to comment. – Reuters.


ING Splits Sale of Asia Insurance Ops
10 Feb 2012, The Star Malaysia (Page 78)

Hong Kong: ING has decided to split the sale of its Asian insurance business by auctioning its investment management business separately, in a move that allows a focused group of suitors to bid for the unit.

Separating the auction into two parts may also allow the Dutch bank and insurance group to earn more money from the process, by selling two divisions for a premium instead of one.

But a dual-process has its complications and challenges, and requires a company and its executives to take the time and energy to run two auctions instead of one.

When ING announced the sale of its Asia life insurance group last month, it was unclear whether the company would separate the asset management business from the auction. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters yesterday that ING would in fact separate the auction into two parts. ING had hired Credit Suisse as the sell-side adviser for the sale of the investment management business, said the source, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the process.
ING reported yesterday a biggerthan-expected loss in its insurance operations because of exceptional charges as it prepared to sell or list the business.

ING and Credit Suisse declined to comment. ING’S Asia-pacific investment management business managed about Us$55bil across Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a company filing yesterday. It has already sold its investment management business in the Philippines and Australia.

In mature markets, investment management deals are often sold in a range of 24% of assets under management, which means ING could fetch about Us$2.2bil for its investment management business. But the source was not aware of any price put on the business yet.

Deal values in the industry vary depending on the mix of debt and equity, and also on the source of funds under management.

Reuters reported last month that ING had hired Goldman Sachs and J. P. Morgan to handle the sale of the Asia life insurance business, which analysts and bankers estimate is worth more than Us$6bil if investment management is included.


PNB Selling MNRB?
The Star Malaysia, 14 Feb 2012 (Page 61)

Petaling Jaya: Companies in the Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) stable such as MNRB Holdings Bhd, Bonia Corp Bhd and Asia File Corp Bhd may be up for sale, industry observers say.

This is following a recent announcement by the Government that PNB and Khazanah Nasional Bhd would each divest five companies as part of a strategy to increase bumiputra participation in the corporate sector.

In the case of PNB, which according to Bloomberg data has direct stakes in 36 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia, the core assets (in which the asset manager and associated funds have a controlling or majority stakes) would be Malayan Banking Bhd, SP Setia Bhd, Chemical Co of Malaysia Bhd and Amanah Harta Tanah PNB, a property trust.

This would leave a second-tier of listed companies where PNB has substantial stakes which includes majority-owned MNRB Holdings, a reinsurer.
Given the spate of merger and acquisition (M&AS) exercises among insurance firms in the past year, the loss-making MNRB could be a target for divestment since whoever gets the PNB stake would be in control of the company.

Pricewaterhousecoopers Malaysia’s executive director of financial services Angie Wong said in an email reply to Starbiz on potential M&AS among insurers that the region has become more attractive to venture into due to the growth potential in Asia’s emerging markets.

She said although there might be some impact on the reinsurance market should MNRB be divested, this was unlikely to be significant.

Wong added that most M&AS involved direct insurance companies and “Malaysia has a fairly robust reinsurance market via the offshore insurance market with established insurance companies already having presence through their own setups”.

PNB was unavailable for comment on what other assets under its management that would be non-core and therefore candidates for divestment.

Following PNB’S first takeover bid of SP Setia, there were reports that the asset manager was interested in making offers for other companies in its portfolio including Bonia Corp Bhd, a clothier and Asia File Corp Bhd, a stationery manufacturer.

According to the Government, the companies would be selected from among 80 high-performing organisations via an open tender process on merit and business potential.

The Government also said that these companies, under the Teras or High Performing Bumiputra SmallMedium Enterprises programme, were not guaranteed government work contracts but would be given assistance to boost its management, financial, and technological abilities.


A Friend That Ensures Mobility
14 Feb 2012, The Star Malaysia (Page 119)

Allianz Malaysia Bhd is continuing its support for Persatuan Mobiliti Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur (Mobiliti) and has increased its sponsorship commitment from three to four vans since 2011. Mobiliti is a charitable organisation that was set up to provide doorto-door transport for wheelchair users in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas of Selangor. The four vans are specially modified with hydraulic lifts and a wheelchair-restraint system that enables passengers to travel comfortably around the Klang Valley.
Allianz Malaysia has been sponsoring the operational costs of these vehicles and has also been providing free motor insurance for the sponsored vans since 2006. Currently, the company is sponsoring four vans and has pledged RM120,000 annually towards this cause. An event held recently at the Malaysian Association For The Blind Complex in Brickfields to announce the sponsorship also showcased the newly designed vans.

“The World Report on Disability 2011 states that more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability, of whom nearly 200 million experience considerable difficulties in functioning. In Malaysia, the Social Welfare Department has 331,606 disabled people registered with them as of November 2011.

“As such, we believe that better awareness on the needs of the disabled and accessibility to services such as Mobiliti’s, are important to ensure that the disabled are able to lead their daily lives as easily as possible,” said Allianz Malaysia CEO Jens Reisch. To-date, more than 1,100 passengers are registered with Mobiliti.

In 2010, Mobiliti helped Malaysian wheelchair users who are mostly from the lower-income group to make about 4,000 trips to hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres around the Klang Valley. In 2011, a total of 4,300 similar trips were made. “The support of corporations such as Allianz has enabled our members to move around with ease and to travel whenever necessary. The commitment is vital to ensure our service continues to benefit the disabled while at the same time allowing us to provide better service for our users. “It is difficult to understand the problems faced by the disabled to travel every day. Without Mobiliti, they could be denied their basic right to travel. Despite the physical challenges, wheelchair users have proven that they are as capable as people without disabilities,” said Mobiliti president Wong Nam Sang.