Kurnia - SOLD

Insurance Australia Group's (IAG) associate, AmG Insurance Berhad, has made a A$483 million acquisition of Kurnia Insurans Berhad.

AmG Insurance, which is 49 per cent owned by IAG, was Malaysia's fourth largest motor insurer and eighth largest general insurer.

It has reached an agreement to buy Kurnia, Malaysia's largest motor insurer, for A$483.7 million, IAG said on Friday. IAG will pay 49 per cent of the price, about A$235 million. The acquisition will make AmG Malaysia's largest general insurer, with 13 per cent of the market.

Malaysia's general insurance market grew by 7.8 per cent last year in local currency terms and is expected to grow by six per cent each year for the next three years.

IAG has been involved in the Malaysian market since 2006, securing a distribution deal with AmBank Group and moving to 49 per cent of the AmG venture. AmG's co-owner, AmBank Group, also has an Australian link with Australia's ANZ bank taking a 19 per cent stake in the lender five years ago.