HONG KONG, Feb 26 (Reuters) – HSBC has begun the process of selling its life insurance business in Singapore by hiring a consultant and expects the asset to be valued at more than $1 billion, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The bank, which makes most of its revenue and profits in Asia, has hired JPMorgan as a consultant, said two of the sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
HSBC has started talks with potential buyers, including Japanese insurers Nippon Life and Dai-ichi Life, and non-binding offers for the business can be expected within a month, one of the sources said.
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HSBC, JPMorgan, Dai-ichi Life and Nippon Life declined to comment on the possible sale of the Singapore insurance business.
HSBC’s plan to divest its life insurance business in Singapore comes as the London-based bank seeks to simplify its operations and exit areas that are not considered value-adding.
Since taking the role a year and a half ago, HSBC chief executive Georges Elhedery has shaken up the bank by reshaping divisions along East-West lines, ditching smaller-scale investment banking units in the US and Europe and reducing the number of senior managers.
In total, the bank initiated 11 exits from various businesses across the world last year.
HSBC is looking to sell only part of its insurance operations in Singapore, according to the sources, and not the entire insurance business, which means it will continue to distribute insurance products to investors in the market.
(Reporting by Kane Wu and Selena Li in Hong Kong and The Insurer’s Jemima Denham in London; Additional reporting by Anton Bridge in Tokyo)
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