Edinburgh-based Standard Life has set its sights on some serious international expansion – but to do that it has agreed to sell half of one of its businesses.
It may seem like a contradiction in terms, but for Standard Life the sale of half of its Hong Kong insurance business is seen as a “major milestone” as the company looks for a breakthrough in the Chinese market.
A report at
City AM outlines that the firm’s wholly owned subsidiary Standard Life Asia will be sold to a joint venture in China that the company has a 50% interest in. Heng An Standard Life Insurance is a partnership between Standard Life and Tianjin Teda and its deal will take around 18 months to complete with Standard life receiving a share of the proceeds in cash.
“The proposed transaction is an important strategic development which will allow us to further develop our proposition for customers and grow our presence in the region,” Standard Life Asia chief executive Alan Armitage told the publication.
Heng An was set up to distribute services across China, so by completing the sale to this joint venture Standard Life is confident that it can cement a greater presence in the country.
The deal comes shortly after the firm announced a
£3.8 billion acquisition of Aberdeen Asset Management.
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