9 January 2015 Insurance

Howden steps in to Malaysia

Howden Broking Group, part of Hyperion Insurance Group, has partnered with South East Asian bank CIMB Group headquartered in Malaysia.

Howden has acquired an initial 49 percent stake in, and management control of, CIMB Insurance Brokers (CIB) from CIMB Group.

CIB is a Malaysian retail broker specialising in financial lines, commercial, EB, marine, engineering and credit insurance. It will become part of Howden, whilst CIMB Group will remain a key partner.

Eddy Hon, the current chief executive officer (CEO) of CIB, will continue to lead the company.

David Howden, Hyperion’s chief executive officer, said: “I am very excited about this development for Howden in Asia. This is a region where we have been developing scale over several years; we have strong ambitions in the South East Asian market, and partnering with the highly respected CIMB banking group will enhance our position immensely.

“Having sector specialists in key markets, is central to our international strategy: adding CIB‘s expertise and professionalism to the Howden family, makes this an exciting step in our journey.”

“Malaysia is one of the strongest markets in the region for insurance premium penetration, and the industry has seen compound annual premium growth of 8 percent over the last 5 years, with this forecast to continue, particularly in marine, energy, financial lines and employee benefits sectors, which are sectors in which Howden has significant know-how and experience.”

Kenny Kim, group chief financial officer and CEO of group strategy and strategic investments of CIMB Group, said: “We are all very pleased to be joining Howden in this venture; we have complementary qualities that make this a perfect fit. Howden’s expertise and product breadth allows CIB to broaden its proposition, and its international reach means they can service the bank and its clients outside of Malaysia.”

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