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Belgian insurer Ageas remains firmly committed to Asia

Xinhua, August 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Belgium's largest insurance company, Ageas, says it "remains firmly committed to Asia" after announcing the sale of its Hong Kong life insurance business to asset management firm JD Capital for 1.23 billion euros (about 1.38 billion U.S. dollars).

Announcing the sale on Sunday, Ageas said it plans to focus its Asian activity on six "growth markets": China, Malaysia, Thailand, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The insurer will keep its Asia regional office in Hong Kong and said it continues to explore other opportunities in the region.

Ageas, which is headquartered in Brussels, entered the Hong Kong market in 2007 with the acquisition of Pacific Century Insurance.

Chief executive Bart De Smet said in a news release: "We concluded that it is in the group's best interest to realign our strategy towards the fast growing emerging markets of Asia."

Ageas Asia chief executive Gary Crist added: "We remain firmly committed to the Asia region as demonstrated by our recent transactions in the Philippines and Vietnam."

The company said it expects the sale to be completed within the first half of 2016, subject to approval from regulators and JD Capital's shareholders.

JD Capital is an asset management company based in Beijing and listed on the Chinese National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), with offices in Asia and North America. Endit