INSURANCE giant Standard Life is consolidating its business interests in Greater China by selling its Hong Kong arm to a PRC joint venture it has a 50 per cent stake in.
The Edinburgh-headquartered firm entered the Chinese market in 2003, when it formed the Heng An Standard Life joint venture with Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Company.
That entity is now acquiring Standard Life Asia, a Hong Kong-based business founded in 1999, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the next 18 months.
Alan Armitage, chief executive of Standard Life Asia, called the deal an “important strategic development”, adding that it would allow the business to “further develop our proposition for customers and grow our presence in the region”.
Heng An Standard Life currently has around five million customers in the PRC while Standard Life Asia has around 48,000 in Hong Kong.
Both businesses offer a range of savings and insurance products, with a spokesperson for Standard Life saying the acquisition would allow Heng An Standard Life to be “more innovative with the product range”.
The move comes as Standard Life awaits regulatory clearance for a similar deal in India, where its joint venture HDFC Standard Life is attempting to expand via a merger with domestic business Max Life.
If the deal, which was announced last August, is given the go-ahead Standard Life will have a 24.1 per cent stake in the business.
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