AIA has declared that it has agreed to take over 100% of the shares in Blue Cross Insurance Limited (APAC) and 80% of the shares in Blue Care JV Holdings Limited from The Bank of East Asia Limited.
Blue Cross is a well set up insurer in Hong Kong concentrating on delivering health insurance products to clientele. Blue Care functions via medical centres with a colossal medical network in Hong Kong.
AIA and the Bank of East Asia have also decided to expand the scope of their prevailing exclusive bancassurance collaboration. Through the Blue Cross acquisition, their partnership will comprise of a 15-year agreement encompassing personal lines general insurance products. This will augment AIA’s comprehensive suite of insurance solutions, including health insurance, to the Bank of East Asia’s banking consumers in the Hong Kong region.
The acquisition deal vitally enhances AIA’s wellness and health strategy in Hong Kong, broadens the distribution collaboration with the Bank of East Asia and brings new product expertise to underpin AIA’s distribution networks.
AIA’s Regional Chief Executive, Jacky Chan, stated that he was delighted to extend the firm’s successful collaboration with the Bank of East Asia and welcome Blue Cross into AIA’s wing. The investment enhances AIA’s long history in Hong Kong and underlines its confidence in its future. The firm’s unrivalled multi-channel distribution portal is at the heart of its strategy. This new-fangled agreement enhances its exclusive relationship with one of the pioneering domestic banks in Hong Kong.
The transaction also augments the AIA’s position as a pioneering health insurer. Chan indicated that the firm would unlock enhanced growth potential and assist several consumers to live healthy, happy, and longer lives via AIA’s digital transformation and comprehensive suite of health insurance schemes.
Co-Chief Executives of Bank of East Asia, Adrian Li and Brian Li, stated that with the bank’s shared vision and exceptional working relationship, the bancassurance collaboration betwixt the bank and AIA (officially began in July 2021) had relished a promising start. The Co-Chief Executives were ecstatic to declare another milestone in this collaboration by expanding their cooperation into the general insurance domain.
The take over of Blue Cross brings together two reliable names in the health insurance sector. AIA is one of the pioneering names in Hong Kong’s health insurance sector, with a robust brand presence and a long functioning history. The firm provides health insurance coverage to approximately 1.7 million individuals and over 450,000 members of corporate schemes.
Blue Cross undertakes extensive operational skills and professional expertise in health insurance, allowing AIA Hong Kong to entice additional value through its distribution networks. The amalgamated scale and strengths of the two firms will deliver leading proposals and enhanced health inferences for consumers.
AIA’s Health and Wellness Ecosystem in Hong Kong will profit from excess Blue Cross capacities alongside Blue Care’s two medical hubs and a city-wide medical network with more than 300 associated service providers.
The firm will also endorse further profitable growth via its multi-channel distribution portal in Hong Kong by delivering a deeper range of products fabricating additional prospects to broaden consumer engagement.
The insurer will repay a careful consideration of USD 278 million for the transaction. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing circumstances.
About AIA
AIA is one of the most colossal independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance groups with a geographical footprint in 18 markets throughout Asia.
For over 100 years, the firm has endured making a crucial, positive impact for its consumers and communities throughout Asian geography. Yet, as the firm sees into the future, its commitment is steel-clad by its purpose of helping millions of people to live Healthier, Longer, and Better Lives.
About Bank of East Asia
Established in Hong Kong in 1918, the Bank of East Asia is devoted to facilitating wholesome corporate banking, personal banking, wealth management, and investment services to its consumers in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and other crucial markets across the globe.
The Bank of East Asia is one of the leading Hong Kong-based fiscal services groups listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, delivering to the needs of consumers across Greater China and beyond. The bank has comprehensively consolidated HKD 907.47 billion (USD 116.12 billion) assets as of December 2021. The bank operates one of the most prominent branch channels in Hong Kong, with 58 branches, nine iFinancial Centres, and 49 SupremeGold Centres.