First Domestic Insurer to Enter Overseas Banking
Leap to Comprehensive Financial Group
Hanwha Life announced on the 24th that it will enter the overseas banking business for the first time among domestic insurance companies through equity investment in Nobu Bank, a local bank in Indonesia.
Hanwha Life held an extraordinary board meeting the day before and passed the agenda item "Approval of Investment in Indonesian Financial Company." The main content is that Hanwha Life will purchase a 40% stake in Nobu Bank, which is owned by Indonesia's Lippo Group.
With this equity investment, Hanwha Life plans to leap forward as a global comprehensive financial group operating not only life and non-life insurance businesses but also banking in Indonesia. It also aims to expand its Southeast Asian market strategy with Indonesia, where the economy and population are growing, as a key base.
Established in 1990, Nobu Bank is a mid-sized bank ranked around 30th locally with total assets of approximately 2.3 trillion KRW as of the end of last year. It belongs to Lippo Group, the 6th largest conglomerate in Indonesia operating various business sectors such as finance, real estate, and distribution, and has high brand recognition locally.
It also has 115 branches and 1,247 employees (as of 2023), with personal mortgage loans and working capital loans for small and medium-sized enterprises as its main products. Based on strong branch sales capabilities, it has maintained excellent capital soundness and solid growth even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Going forward, Hanwha Life plans to combine its digital capabilities with Lippo Group’s banking management know-how to quickly establish itself in the market. Initially, it will rapidly apply the digital mobile experience possessed by Hanwha Life and Hanwha Financial affiliates. Through this, it plans to build a hybrid channel that adds digital banking to the traditional in-person channels and expand a mobile-based sales environment.
Additionally, synergy is expected to be maximized through the sale of life insurance products by Hanwha Life Indonesia using bancassurance channels and non-life insurance products from Lippo General Insurance, whose shares were acquired in March last year.
Furthermore, through the partnership with Lippo Group, Hanwha Life is expected to further solidify its customer base by actively utilizing Lippo Group’s brand recognition and influence locally, as well as the entire upstream and downstream ecosystem including affiliates’ employees, supply chains, and customers.
Yeoh Seung-joo, CEO (Vice Chairman) of Hanwha Life, said, "Hanwha Life has already maintained a leading position in the domestic market through proactive separation of product manufacturing and sales, but accelerating global expansion is essential to overcome the limitations of the domestic market and achieve sustainable growth. We expect that this equity investment in Nobu Bank will enable us to leap forward as a global comprehensive financial group and that Indonesia will become a key base for expanding our Southeast Asian market strategy."
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