Insurance giant Axa placed its Singapore unit up for sale at the end of the summer 2020 and it seems that several bidders have been shortlisted.
HSBC and Malaysian life insurance joint venture Malayan Banking are just some of the companies interested, local newspaper The Straits Times reported.
Axa’s Singapore operations provide life, savings and investment services and the sale could raise up to $700m (£512m, €574m).
There is at least one Chinese firm is also on the list of potential bidders, the reports said.
Focus
Axa chief executive Thomas Buberl is reportedly looking to shed the Lion City arm to shift the insurer’s focus towards property and casualty insurance.
This stems from the acquisition of XL Group in 2018 which cost the insurer $15.3bn, and since then, the chief executive has been reviewing options for smaller global business opportunities, such as in the Middle East, to pay for the M&A deal.
International Adviser contacted HSBC and Axa but neither firm provided a comment in time for publication.
