【HSBC】Allianz and Manulife are reportedly considering competitive bids for HSBC's Singapore insurance business

Bloomberg citing sources reports that HSBC (00005) announced a strategic review of its Singapore insurance business. Allianz SE and Manulife Financial are considering competing bids for HSBC’s insurance operations in Singapore.

Sources also say that Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. (8750) and Nippon Life Insurance Co. may also bid for HSBC Life Singapore Pte Ltd. Bloomberg reports that the sale process has been initiated this month, with non-binding offers possibly emerging in the coming weeks.

Sources further indicate that all parties are still evaluating, and these companies may decide to withdraw from bidding, while other bidders could also emerge.

Allianz, Dai-ichi Life, and Nippon Life declined to comment. A Manulife spokesperson said the company is always seeking opportunities to enhance its scale and capabilities, and to advance its goals and strategies; he declined to comment further. A HSBC representative stated that the Singapore insurance business is undergoing a strategic review and no decisions have been made.

HSBC began evaluating its Singapore insurance business in January this year as part of the group’s ongoing global restructuring strategy. At that time, the bank said the review only covered HSBC Life Singapore and would consider all options for its insurance manufacturing operations, with no decisions made. Bloomberg sources at the time indicated that the valuation of HSBC Life Singapore could exceed $1 billion.

In its 2025 full-year performance report released in February, HSBC stated that it is conducting a strategic review of its insurance manufacturing business in Singapore.

HSBC’s insurance business in Singapore originated four years ago when, under the leadership of former Group CEO Noel Quinn, HSBC Insurance Group (Asia-Pacific), a wholly owned indirect subsidiary, acquired AXA Singapore for over $500 million. At that time, HSBC expected that after integrating AXA Singapore, it would become the seventh-largest life insurer and the fourth-largest personal medical insurer in Singapore based on annualized new premiums and total premiums, respectively, and could contribute profits to the group immediately.

In February, Aiqiao Zhi said: “Strategic review of Singapore life insurance because we haven’t entered the top 5 in the local market.”

As for Georges Elhedery, who succeeded Noel Quinn, he has cut management levels, positions, and business operations since taking office. Reuters reported in February that during the full-year 2025 earnings call, Elhedery stated:

“The reason we decided to conduct a strategic review of this business is that we are not in the top 5 in the Singapore life insurance market. Our goal has always been to be a leader in the areas we operate in, or to let others do better than us, while we do not participate.”

Since Elhedery took office in September 2024, HSBC’s stock price in Hong Kong has nearly doubled.

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