AXA ASIA TO BUY WINTERTHUR HONG KONG, TURNS DOWN INDONESIA

Australia-based Axa Asia-Pacific has agreed to buy the Hong Kong life unit of Switzerland-based Winterthur from its France-based majority owner. Axa Asia-Pacific will pay AXA between A$278m and A$393m, depending on its performance over the next two years, with an initial payment of A$311m being adjusted in 2009. The deal will increase Axa Asia-Pacific’s market share of new assurance business in Hong Kong by about three percentage points and will provide further opportunities in the region’s wealth management sector, said recently appointed Axa Asia-Pacific CEO Andrew Penn. Winterthur Hong Kong has about 160 financial consultants and 240 agents, as well as a wealth management staff of 140. Axa Asia-Pacific’s current market share in Hong Kong is 7.7%, with about 3,100 agents and advisers. Hong Kong currently accounts for about 90% of Axa Asia-Pacific’s gross premiums outside Australia and New Zealand. France’s AXA agreed to offer its independently-minded majority-owned subsidiary Axa Asia-Pacific the option to take control of any AXA expansion moves in the Asia-Pacific region as part of the deal when AXA acquired a 52% stake in the old National Mutual company a decade ago. Meanwhile, Axa Asia-Pacific said that it would not be buying Winterthur’s Indonesian life interests, since these focused on the health sector. It said that an announcement would be made on Winterthur Taiwan in due course.