Nasdaq-listed Chinese insurance broker Fanhua has topped the APAC insurance M&A charts for the first half of 2023.
Two of the broker’s deals were recognized as being among the biggest transactions in the Asian insurance space in the first half of 2023, S&P Global Market Intelligence reported.
Deals closed by the business as of 31 March included its purchase of 51% of the equity interests in Jilin Zhongji Shi'An Insurance Agency and Wuhan Taiping Online Insurance Agency. The buys were valued at $103.8 million and $3.5 million, respectively.
Fanhua also closed its purchase of Zhongrong Smart Finance Information Technology that same day. The deal had been announced in November and was valued at $518.9 million, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
Fanhua reported revenue growth up 21% year-on-year, to RMB827.7 million ($116 million), in the first quarter of 2023, while its premiums grew 29% year-over-year to RMB4.4 billion, according to unaudited financial results released in May.
“The impressive figures were combined results of significant increase in agent quality and productivity, material contribution from acquisitions and open-platform strategy as well as material operational gains from digitization, demonstrating that we are executing on our well-defined strategy of driving sustainable growth in our business through ‘Professionalization, Specialization, Digitalization, and Open Platform’.,” Yinan Hu, Fanhua chairman and CEO, said in company’s results announcement.
Following Fanhua in the S&P Global Market Intelligence rankings was OUTsurance Holdings with its $24.1 million acquisition of Youi Holdings, a general insurance provider in Australia and New Zealand. The biggest deal in Southeast Asia was the acquisition of Sun Life Grepa Financial in the Philippines for $15.8 million.
