AIA denies plans to reduce stake in subsidiary | Insurance Business

According to the insurer, it is not in any negotiations to reduce its stake in AIA Malaysia.
“There is no conversation. That’s all I can say,” AIA Group CEO Ng Keng Hooi told The Star. “Obviously, we are very careful with any confidential conversation, not only in Malaysia but others as well. But in [AIA Malaysia’s] case, there is no conversation. Anywhere we operate in, we want to own as much as we can.”
Ng spoke to journalists at a two-day AIA media event in the company’s home market of Hong Kong.
This comes despite reports that Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central banking institution, wants to enforce a 70% cap on foreign ownership of insurers. Fully foreign-owned insurers may be required to sell 30% of their shares to Malaysian investors.
AIA Group owns 100% of AIA Malaysia, and is present in 18 markets across the Asia-Pacific Region.
Several Malaysian institutions such as pension funds Employees Provident Fund, Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) are among those angling to buy into the foreign-owned insurers.
Another foreign-owned insurer, Great Eastern Holdings of Singapore, has said that it is “assessing possible options” in order to comply with the ownership cap.
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