Foreign insurers to submit plans on reducing local ownership by April

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara is requiring all foreign insurers operating in Malaysia to submit their plans on reducing ownership of their local units by early April this year. 

According to Bank Negara governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, each plan submitted by the foreign insurers will be assessed individually on a case-by-case basis. 

“The deadline goes on a bilateral basis. It will be based on their plans as to how they intend to comply with the conditions they accepted when they entered into corporate exercises.

“The central bank will look at it on a case-by-case basis based on their plans,” Nor Shamsiah told reporters during the 4Q18 gross domestic product results briefing.

In order to allow local ownership in insurance companies, Malaysia previously set a June 30, 2018, deadline for foreign insurers to reduce ownership in their units operating in the country to 70%.