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Prudential Buys UOB Life

Just managed to browse through the news to see this article pasted below:

UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) has sold its life insurance unit for $428 million to UK's biggest insurer Prudential, in a move that will free up some capital to strengthen its core banking business.

The so-called 'alliance' will see UOB distribute Prudential's life, accident and health insurance products in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand for at least 12 years.

UOB Life Assurance, which was incorporated in Singapore in 1990, has over $2 billion in assets as at September last year. It also has 50,000 policyholders who hold a total of 70,000 policies. It has no agents.

UOB Life's products are distributed mainly through channels like bancassurance - or the sale of insurance and other similar products through a bank - and through independent financial advisers.

At a briefing on Wednesday, UOB Group's deputy chairman and chief executive Wee Ee Cheong said that UOB Life is a 'relatively small player' in a highly concentrated and competitive industry. The product manufacturing aspect of its life insurance business is also currently a small contributor to the UOB Group.

'We decided that strategically, it would make more sense for us to divest UOB Life and channel resources and focus to building our core banking business regional infrastructure,' Mr Wee explained. 'Our core business and strengths are in commercial banking and distribution of financial products.

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