SINGAPORE (AFP) – Singapore yesterday moved to stop a USD1.7-billion deal that would have allowed German insurance giant Allianz to buy a majority stake in a local insurer.
Allianz announced in July a “pre-conditional voluntary cash general offer” to buy at least 51 per cent of Singapore’s Income Insurance, subject to regulatory approval.
Income had said it needed Allianz’s financial muscle to compete better in the industry.
The deal raised fears among some locals that being majority owned by a private company would dilute Income’s social mission of providing affordable insurance.
A former cooperative that became a non-listed company in 2022, Income’s largest shareholder is NTUC Enterprise, a holding entity for the various social enterprises under the labour movement.
“The government has assessed the proposed transaction and has decided that it would not be in the public interest for the transaction, in its current form, to proceed,” Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong told Parliament.
The ministry “is not satisfied that Income will be able to continue fulfilling its social mission after the proposed transaction,” he added.
A bill was tabled in Parliament yesterday to allow the Monetary Authority of Singapore to “withhold approval of the sale on grounds of public interest when it involves a current or former cooperative insurer”, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Facebook.
Allianz had said it intended to offer SGD40.58 per share for a 51-per-cent stake in Income in a deal worth SGD2.2 billion (USD1.7 billion) as it seeks to strengthen its presence in Singapore and Asia.
