British bank HSBC Holdings and Etiqa, the majority owned Malayan Banking insurance joint-venture, have been named as two of the shortlisted bidders for the Singapore operations of global insurer and reinsurer AXA, reports Bloomberg.
According to reports, people familiar with the matter have said that the sale of AXA Singapore could raise as much as USD 700 million for the French insurer.
In August of last year, Bloomberg reported that AXA was exploring options for selling its Singapore unit in a bid to raise funds.
Now, some five months later, Bloomberg has reported that both HSBC and Etiqa have proceeded to the next phase with just a few weeks left before a deadline for submitting binding bids.
This is all based on information from people with knowledge of the matter, who have also told Bloomberg that at least one Chinese company is also among those invited to submit a bid.
The report claims that the discussions are ongoing and that those interested in making a bid could still pull-out from the process.
AXA’s Singapore division offers life and property and casualty (P&C) insurance, and generated EUR 615 million (USD 745mn) in revenue in 2019.
At the end of 2020, AXA announced that it had entered into an agreement with Generali to sell its insurance operations in Greece for a consideration of EUR 165 million (USD 200mn).
