FWD Group

2010s

Richard Li of Pacific Century Group formed FWD Group in 2013[12] after purchasing ING Group’s insurance and pension units in Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand for US$2.1 billion.[3][7] Swiss Re bought a 12.3% stake in FWD Group in 2013 for $425 million.[13] Huynh Thanh Phong joined as CEO in 2013.[14] The company then expanded into the Philippines in 2014 and Indonesia in 2015. Expanding into three more countries in 2016,[12] that year FWD Group acquired Shenton Insurance in Singapore,[6] also purchasing a unit from Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. in Vietnam[12] for $35 million.[15] In late 2016, FWD agreed to buy AIG's Fuji Life Insurance Co. in Japan.[12] By April 2017, FWD had[16] $24.4 billion in assets under management and sponsored the Clockenflap music festival.[17] In 2018 FWD agreed to purchase an Indonesian life insurance venture, PT Commonwealth Life, from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $300 million. When the acquisition completed in 2020, PT Commonwealth Life was rebranded PT FWD Life Indonesia.[18] FWD Group also purchased HSBC’s stake in a Malaysian insurance joint venture in 2018,[19] acquiring 49% of HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia),[15] now renamed FWD Takaful (Malaysia).[20]

In June 2019, FWD Group purchased MetLife's business in Hong Kong[5] reportedly for around $400 million.[7] That month, FWD Group agreed to buy SCB Life Assurance, the life insurance business of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, for $3 billion, "reflecting the largest insurance deal in Southeast Asia in terms of value."[5][21] FWD also launched its Malaysian takaful (Islamic insurance) market at the end of July 2019.[22] By August 2019, FWD had applied for a license to enter a joint venture in China. Having spent $6 billion on mergers and acquisitions since its founding,[4] in November 2019, FWD agreed to acquire Vietcombank-Cardif Life Insurance, a joint venture between Vietcombank and BNP Paribas Cardif,[23] for $400 million.[15] FWD announced in December 2019 it would exit its group medical insurance business in Singapore by December 2020.[6][24]

2020s

In March 2020, Prudential acquired a bancassurance partnership in Thailand from FWD Group for $753 million.[25] The same month, FWD Vietnam Life became the largest life insurer in Vietnam by charter capital.[26] In June 2020, FWD Group purchased a minority stake in the life insurance arm of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), PT Asuransi BRI Life, for a reported $300 million.[27] By September 2020, press reported that FWD Group was considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong. That month, the company purchased a stake in IPP Financial Advisers.[28] As of 2020, FWD Group had $50.9 billion in assets under management and 7.5 million customers.[29] By 2021, the company managed approximately US$63 billion in assets and had 6,100 employees in Asia.[30]

In 2022, the company's Value of New Business reached US$823 million, up 29% compared to 2021, and its segmental adjusted operating profit before tax was US$334 million, representing an 83% increase over the previous year.[31][32]

In 2023, the company entered the Malaysian life insurance market through an investment in Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, which was renamed FWD Insurance Berhad. Alongside other investors, FWD Group acquired a stake from The Prudential Insurance Company of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of the US-based, NYSE-listed Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI).[33][34] On March 13, 2023, FWD refiled its Main Board listing application for its Hong Kong IPO, with total private placement amounting to US$1.825 billion since December 2021.[35] In May of the same year, the company appointed Sid Sankaran as a managing director and its chief financial officer (CFO).[36] In August, FWD Group received investment-grade credit ratings from Fitch Ratings and Moody's. Fitch assigned FWD Group a long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of “BBB+” with a stable outlook; Moody's assigned a Baa2 issuer rating to FWD Group with a positive outlook.[37]

In March 2024, FWD completed an additional investment for a 21% stake in FWD Takaful Berhad, making it the majority shareholder with a 70% holding.[38] In May of the same year, the company launched a new health business, FWD HealthyMe, and appointed Dr. Sarah Salvilla as Chief Health Officer.[39]

For the year 2024, the company reported a net profit after tax of US$24 million, with operating profit after tax rising 29% from last year to US$463 million.[1]