French insurance and investment giant AXA has purchased the remaining 50% of Chinese property and casualty (P&C) insurer AXA Tianping that it did not previously own in a €584 million transaction.
This deal follows yesterday’s announcement that Allianz had received approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission for the preparatory establishment of what the firm called the country’s first ever insurance holding company wholly owned by a foreign insurer.
Alternatively, AXA has stated that this acquisition announced today is a “first of its kind” in the Chinese insurance market whereby a leading P&C insurer will be fully owned by a foreign company.
Both AXA’s and Allianz’ agreements were made possible by a series of measurements recently announced by the Chinese government meant to further open up and encourage investment in the country by foreign financial insurance institutions.
In 2017, AXA Tianping ranked in the top 20 amongst China’s P&C insurers with €1 billion of Gross Written Premiums, and is the only foreign invested company in the top 20 P&C insurers in China.
“AXA Tianping represents a unique platform for AXA to capture fully the significant growth potential of the P&C and health markets in China,” said AXA’s Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl.
“By leveraging its broad domestic presence, strong distribution capabilities, and our international brand with global Health and P&C expertise, we look forward to offering high-value products and services to our existing and potential customers in China.”
Gordon Watson, CEO of AXA Asia, added, “The transaction marks another step towards consolidating our position as the #1 foreign insurer in China and strengthening of our leadership in the Asian region.”
“With full ownership and management control of AXA Tianping, we will further accelerate the deployment of our strategy to create a leading insurer that champions healthcare and mobility solutions.”
