Three Arrows Capital Founder Arrested

One of the co-founders of collapsed cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has been apprehended in Singapore and jailed for four months, according to the company's liquidator. Su Zhu was detained at Singapore's Changi airport while trying to leave the city-state.

The Singapore-based company filed for bankruptcy last year when its fortunes suffered a sharp decline after a massive sell-off of assets it had bet on as prices nosedived in crypto markets. His arrest came after Teneo said it obtained a committal order this week against Zhu for failing to comply with its investigation into the company's failure.

Co-founder Kyle Davies was also committed to four months in prison but “his whereabouts remain unknown at this point in time”, it said.

Singapore's monetary authority had banned the pair “from conducting regulated investment activity for nine years each. The liquidator, ordered to preside over the bankruptcy by a court in the British Virgin Islands, is attempting to recover the assets of Three Arrows and bring returns to its creditors after the company failed.

However it has accused Zhu and Davies of not cooperating with the effort to return funds and failing to voluntarily provide information.In a profile in The New York Times in June, the pair said they had been travelling since the hedge fund's collapse, including to the Indonesian resort island of Bali where they had been surfing and meditating.

Collusion - Japanese Insurers

Japan's major property insurers are suspected of having colluded over insurance premiums for corporate customers such as oil refiners, steel companies and public transportation operators, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

The Financial Services Agency is expected to order Japan's four major insurers, including Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, to submit records of contracts for which they allegedly arranged premium levels to avoid competition, according to the sources.

The agency suspects that alleged cartel activities took place when the insurers jointly underwrote coverage for large infrastructure companies such as ENEOS Holdings, East Japan Railway and Narita International Airport, the sources said.

The other three insurers are Sompo Japan Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance. The allegation comes on top of policy price-fixing involving joint coverage for railway company Tokyu by the same four insurers.

In June, the insurers admitted collusion for Tokyu's contract and began investigating whether there were other anti-competitive practices in selling other policies.

Dozens of suspected price-fixing cases at the insurers surfaced after employees were asked to report suspected antitrust business activities within their companies following the Tokyu incident.

Ahead of any potential investigations or penalties from the Japan Fair Trade Commission, insurance companies have conducted independent probes into suspicious deals, aiming to submit any evidence of cartel activities to authorities for leniency. There are suspicious contracts with companies in a wide variety of industries in addition to railway firms, oil refiners and steel companies.

Insurers typically provide coverage jointly for large companies to protect themselves against potentially large compensation demands.

Indonesia ban e-Commerce Transaction On Social Media Platform

Indonesia has banned e-commerce transactions on social media platforms, the trade minister said on Wednesday, in a move intended to protect traditional retail and which will mostly impact short video platform TikTok and its shopping platform.

Predatory Pricing - The government says the move is aimed at protecting offline merchants and marketplaces in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, adding that predatory pricing on social media platforms is threatening small and medium-sized enterprises. The regulation which takes effect immediately, is intended to ensure "fair and just" business competition, adding it was intended also to ensure data protection of users.

He warned of letting social media become an e-commerce platform, shop, and bank all at the same time.

The regulation also requires e-commerce platforms in Indonesia to set a minimum price of $100 for certain items that are directly purchased from abroad and that all products offered should meet local standards.

Tik Tok - It appears thatTikTok will be the only business affected by the transaction ban because its model relies on social e-commerce, although "it will not harm the digital marketplace industry's growth."

The company said its app had 325 million Southeast Asian users that were active every month, and 125 million of them were in Indonesia - on a par with its user figures for Europe and not too far behind the U.S., where it has 150 million.

Indonesia, with a population of more than 270 million, accounted for nearly $52 billion worth of e-commerce transactions last year, according to data from consultancy Momentum Works. Of that, 5% took place on TikTok, principally through live-streaming.

TikTok is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance

Grab Withdraw From Retain Investment

Grab may be the most known operator of ride-hailing, food delivery and payment services with its mobile applications in the region, but Grab’s venture into retail investment three years ago in the hope of tapping its large user base has not taken flight as envisioned. Apart from Singapore, it has operations in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Unrelated Sphere -  It is not a "given" that consumers using Grab’s other services could be converted, especially since the ride-hailing and food delivery spaces where it dominates are unrelated to the retail investment sphere. Frequent users of the Grab prefer other more established platforms for their investment needs.

Critical Mass - Singapore is a small market, and given a low propensity for the general population to invest, it would therefore be tough for such micro-investment channels to achieve critical mass to make the business sustainable.

The analysts were giving their comments yesterday after Grab informed its customers a day earlier that it was discontinuing its two investment products — AutoInvest and Earn+ — and will not be accepting new deposits for them.

Users need to fully redeem their investments before Oct 13, or Grab will redeem them on users’ behalf at the prevailing market price and return the proceeds to their GrabPay Wallet.

This decision follows an extensive review, which concluded that the business would not be commercially viable. This announcement came not long after financial advisory firm MoneyOwl announced last month that it would be winding down by the end of the year. It used to offer services such as low-cost financial planning and investment in low-cost funds.

AutoInvest - was launched in 2020 and Earn+ was rolled out by Grab two years later. AutoInvest allows users to set aside as little as S$1 for investment purposes from what they already have in their digital GrabPay Wallet.

Users who opt in to the service will automatically invest a chosen amount when they take a ride with Grab, order from GrabFood or pay using the GrabPay Card. The money is invested in fixed-income funds managed by asset management firms, for instance, and was touted to potentially earn returns of an estimated 1.8 per cent per annum. The returns cannot be withdrawn as cash but are channelled back into Grab’s ecosystem of partners for transactions.

Earn+ allows - users to put money into their GrabPay Wallets and earn interests of up to 2.5 per cent a year. Based on data from its latest quarterly financial results in August, Grab has 34.9 million monthly transacting users, though no breakdown by country or products were published. The company was hoping to tap its captive user base for this venture to float.

Taking-Off - Regular users of the Grab app in Singapore said that they were not keen to take up the investment products despite being aware of their existence. There are just many other options that Singaporean finds more well-established and have more expertise (when it comes to investments).

Another factor hindering Grab’s attempt to enter the investment sector is that not everyone wants to be an investor. Investment is not like taxis (or private-hire transport), where everybody wants a taxi every day. Very few people do investments in the world in any given country, and the fraction of people who invest is from 8 to 12 per cent.

MoneyOwl - This low propensity may also partly explain why MoneyOwl had to wind down. On its website, MoneyOwl said that its financial advisers do not earn commissions, “giving them no incentive to hard-sell or promote unsuitable or unnecessary products.

Financial investing is not a natural activity for many of us because we need to reduce our current expenditures or consumption to put money in for the future. Without a lot of hard-selling of investment products, “many people don’t consider it”.

Sustainable - For the micro-investment model to be sustainable, the service provider must be able to reach critical mass. Given Singapore’s small population, it might make it more challenging for Grab to have reached the critical mass. Low-cost investing market is very much winner-takes-all due to the need for massive economies of scale.

Infraction At Prudential

The chief financial officer of multinational insurer Prudential resigned earlier this year after trying to help a relative of a senior regulator get hired at the company. James Turner, who had worked at the London- and Hong Kong-based insurance giant since 2010, stepped down on May 31 and is leaving Prudential at the end of this month. Prudential said Turner had fallen short of its standards.

The infraction - people familiar with the matter now say, was Turner’s role in a hiring situation that involved a relative of Carol Hui, a senior official at the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong. Hui had approached Prudential as her son was looking for a job.

Who Is Hui - Hui was the executive director of the agency’s long-term business division, which regulates the activities of Prudential, AIA Group and other life insurers in the city. Prudential, whose logo is a woman holding a serpent and a mirror, is unrelated to Prudential Financial, the U.S. life insurer.

Hui, who had been the lead Hong Kong regulator for life insurers since 2017, left after finishing her employment contract on June 25. The insurance authority confirmed Hui’s departure and said it is looking for a replacement. The regulator also said it has codes of conduct that all staffers and board members have to comply with. 

Past Infraction - Western financial institutions operating in Asia have previously gotten into trouble after hiring relatives of government officials. Back in 2016, JPMorgan Chase reached settlements with U.S. authorities that had probed the bank’s earlier hiring of relatives and connections of government officials in China and other corporate clients. Those arrangements were informally dubbed the Sons and Daughters program. Years later, a former senior JPMorgan banker in Hong Kong was acquitted of bribery charges by a district judge in the city.

Turner, who was CFO for a little over a year, was replaced by Ben Bulmer, a veteran Prudential executive who most recently was CFO of its insurance and asset management business. Turner was based in Hong Kong and was previously the group’s chief risk and compliance officer for about four years.

Prudential was founded in 1848 in London, where it remains incorporated. The company split off its U.K. and European business in 2019, and later its U.S. unit, to focus on markets in Asia and Africa. It now has headquarters and primary stock listings in Hong Kong and London, and its current chief executive officer, Anil Wadhwani, is based in the Chinese financial hub. It sells life and health insurance, and has an asset-management business.

Hong Kong is Prudential’s largest market. It accounted for about 45% of the company’s $1.49 billion in new business profit for the first half of 2023.

Tokio Marine Southeast Asia Sales

Major Korean insurers and two Japanese life insurers are among the bidders looking to purchase Tokio Marine's billion-dollar businesses in Southeast Asia, according to industry sources. The Japanese insurer is reportedly approaching Korea’s large insurers and other financial companies in the country to gauge interest in Tokio Marine’s businesses in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Tokio Marine is planning to send information memoranda to potential buyers both at home and abroad as early as later this August. It was already reported that Goldman Sachs and Jefferies will oversee the sale. The potential sale is also timely as South Korean insurers are looking to grow their overseas portfolio due to a stagnating domestic market with an aging population and lower birth rates.

Across multiple major insurers in the country that have shown interest, Hanwha Life is being touted as a strong candidate as the latter is looking to expand its presence across the Southeast. A company official for Hanwha has confirmed that the insurer received a takeover offer, but it has not yet been considered at this time.

Hanwha Life emerged as a strong candidate for the acquisition of Tokio Marine’s Southeast Asian units as the company started focusing on an M&A after realizing that it needs considerable time and investment to establish a new unit.

Meanwhile, two Japanese life insurers are also considering bids for Tokio Marine’s businesses in the Southeast: Dai-ichi Life and Nippon Life. Both are reportedly working with financial advisers as they mull over non-binding bids for the assets. While other insurers have expressed interest in specific markets, Tokio Marine prefers to sell the Southeast Asian businesses as a complete, one-off deal.

Much like in South Korea, Japanese financial firms have also been considering acquisitions in the region to expand their portfolio outside the country.

RHB-Tokio Marine Bancassurance

RHB Bank of Malaysia is reportedly soliciting proposals from financial advisors regarding its insurance sales partnership within its branches as its existing arrangement with a subsidiary of Japan’s Tokio Marine Holdings Inc is set to conclude at the close of the upcoming year.

The current bancassurance collaboration is with Tokio Marine Life Insurance Malaysia, whose parent company has initiated the process to sell its life insurance business in Southeast Asia. As it encompasses both traditional and Islamic life insurance, the potential value of this deal could exceed RM1 billion.

Reports earlier this year indicated that Tokio Marine Holdings’ Southeast Asia life business could be valued at approximately US$1 billion (RM4.69 billion) in a deal. Several potential suitors includes Dai-ichi Life & Nippon Life.

The Kuala Lumpur-based bank inked a 10-year bancassurance deal with Tokio Marine in 2015. This agreement mandates RHB Bank to exclusively market, distribute, and promote Tokio Marine’s conventional life insurance products within a defined period, according to a stock exchange filing. This 10-year arrangement succeeded their earlier distribution pact signed in 2010, as per the disclosed filing.

Higher Retakaful Cost - 2023

The country’s oldest takaful operator Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd is expected to face some cost pressures in the form of higher retakaful costs in the second half of the year (2H23). While maintaining its “outperform” call on the takaful operator, higher retakaful costs may continue to be a bane for the company.

On takaful service expenses, it is noted that claims only saw an increase of 15% (with claims-to-revenue at 58.4%, a drop of five percentage points). The group attributed higher retakaful costs to be the main cause of the surge. It is noted that more frequent floods have led to the reassessment of reinsurance premiums, which we reckon may only be upside-biased going forward. The takaful service result ended 8% lower.

In 1H23, Takaful Malaysia saw an 18% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in takaful revenue. From the family takaful end (+22%), credit-related products remain as the lion’s share, accounting for around 80% of its portfolio.

This continues to be backed by strong bancatakaful contributions with new partners in Agrobank and Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd. General takaful mostly gained thanks to a growing motor exposure. On fire-class products, the group reflects that it has been able to tide the ongoing fire detariffication by repackaging its residential products without compromising on its premiums.

Amgeneral To Liberty General

AMgeneral Insurance Berhad is delighted to be known as Liberty General Insurance Berhad (“Liberty”), solidifying its position as the leading general insurer in Malaysia. With Liberty General Insurance Berhad at the forefront of the industry, Malaysians can look forward to enhanced insurance options as the insurer aims to deliver a more comprehensive and holistic coverage tailored to their needs.

Liberty embarks on a thrilling journey to service over three million customers with over 8,000 dedicated agents and partners. Spanning across three reputable brands – Liberty Insurance, Kurnia Insurans, and AmAssurance – these brands promise a wide and unique range of coverage, encompassing motor, home, business and medical insurance.

As part of this merger that solidified on 1 April this year, Liberty has entered an exclusive 20-year bancassurance partnership to distribute general insurance products with AmBank Group, who now holds a 30% interest in Liberty.

Liberty General Insurance is an owned subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance, who acquired 100% shares of AmGeneral Insurance in July 2022. Previously, AmGeneral was owned by AmBank Group (51%) and Insurance Australia Group (49%).

Insurance Scam By Banker

Senior citizens continue to be duped into buying high-premium insurance policies, sold to them as annuity plans, with no attempt to stop or punish this widespread fraud. 

So how does this work? - It starts with bank Relation Manager (RM) calling customers with the offer of 'single premium' policies offering a fixed annuity. The RM is aware of the customer's financial strength, savings account balance, fixed deposits, credit card history and other details. 

 

A personal meeting is fixed where the customer is told that a single, lump sum investment will provide lifelong fixed returns. The minimum lump sum premium is usually large amount. The customer were assured of a regular annuity payment after a while. 

 

If the sales pitch succeeds, the RM notes down customer details on the prescribed application form and asks for signatures. Most people, who sign after such a sales pitch, do not make the effort to read the form, fill it up themselves in their own handwriting (as required by insurance policies) or even scrutinise it after it is done. 

 

These days, an RM will pull out a tab from his bag and start punching data into it for smoother and faster onboarding.  

 

The most important column in this form is 'Premium payment frequency.' The options are monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly and lump sum. The RM puts a tick against the 'yearly' option without explaining the implications to the customer. It ensures that the customer only realises he or she has been duped after 11 months on receiving a notice for the next premium payment. 

 

When an average, middle-class customer signs up for such a hefty annual premium, it ought to raise a red flag but insurers have another check. Insurer should track and double-check such policies and punish mis-selling. But banks and insurers simply don't care. On the contrary, the RM, banker or agent who commits this fraud, is seen as a star salesperson and rewarded with incentives and bonuses.

 

Digging Deeper - It doesn't stop here. With another 11 months before the fraud is revealed, the agent uses the time to dig up information about a customer's family and sweet-talks them into purchasing additional policies in the names of children and grandchildren, portraying it as smart succession planning with benefits. A slow legal system, which gives primacy to the words of the contract and signatures affixed by the customer, works against them when they finally wake up and want to lodge a complaint. 

 

The scam is not limited to senior citizens. The younger generation, or Gen Z, is also casual and careless about reading and understanding insurance proposals and tends to sign forms blindly. This will ensure that the fraud remains active in the future. 

 

Police Detain Employee of Evergrande Group

Several employees working in the wealth management unit of the debt-ridden property developer Evergrande Group have been placed under criminal probe, signaling that China has gone a step further in tackling the problems of its property market.

Police Action - The case "is subject to further investigation," acording to Shenzhen police in South China's Guangdong Province said in a statement on Saturday night following a recent police action. Investors who bought Evergrande's "wealth management" products can report their cases through online channels, telephone calls, text messages and other means.

According to tianyancha, a corporate information platform, Evergrande Financial Wealth Management Co was set up in 2015, and was described as a wholly owned subsidiary of Evergrande Group.

On August 31, Evergrande's wealth management unit made an announcement, saying the company's asset disposal progress was not proceeding as expected, and it had not obtained asset disposal funds, so it could not make repayments for that month.

As of December 31, 2022, the unpaid principal and interest of Evergrande's wealth management products stood at nearly 34 billion yuan ($4.7 billion).

Hai Gang Life - In another development, Evergrande's life insurance arm on Friday was taken over by state-backed Hai Gang Life, according to a notice issued by the National Administration of Financial Regulation on Friday.

Local media earlier reported that Evergrande Life Assurance Co had become seriously insolvent, suffering huge losses. Hai Gang Life has registered capital of 15 billion yuan and will take over the assets and debts of Evergrande's insurance unit.

Evergrande Group is in the midst of a restructuring, with the long-running process hanging in the balance after a key vote on its offshore debt restructuring plan was delayed until October.

Evergrande's three main listed companies - China Evergrande Group, Evergrande Property Services Group and China Evergrande New-Energy Vehicle Group - have issued their financial statements and resumed trading on the Hong Kong stock market.

On Friday, China released data related with the real estate sector in the first eight months, showing that recovery signs were emerging. New home sales totaled 73.86 million square meters in August, up 4.8 percent from July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

A month-on-month upward trend has begun to appear. Market sentiment is clearly positive, Yan Yuejin, a research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, told the Global Times on Sunday.

However, some foreign media rushed to talk down China's real estate sector after Friday's data release. Chinese analysts believe that the real estate industry has experienced some difficulties, but they are largely short-term issues and China's real estate sector has great potential for further development.

Analysts noted that China's urbanization rate was 66 percent in 2022. From the perspective of global economic development, before the urbanization rate reaches 75 percent, no country's real estate has encountered a sustained or irreversible bubble collapse.

China's urbanization is expected to maintain an average annual growth range of 0.5-0.8 percent, coupled with inter-city population migration, an economic recovery that drives residential housing consumption and sufficient medium- and long-term inelastic demand for housing, they said.

Evergande Insurance - For Sales

Chinese real-estate developer Evergrande Group is looking to sell its insurance businesses to a government-backed company. A Shenzhen-based state-owned organisation is in talks to acquire Evergrande Life Assurance Company and rename it Hai Gang Life Insurer, according to the sources. 

Evergrande currently owns 50% of Evergrande Life Assurance Company. The real estate developer, which has amassed a debt of hundreds of billions in Chinese Yuan, acquired a stake in the life insurer in 2015. Evergrande purchased the shares in Evergrande Life Assurance Company from the Chongqing City Construction Investment and the Chongqing Land Group.

The life insurer was formerly known as the Great Eastern Life Assurance Company (GELC).Evergrande, which is at the epicentre of a debt crisis that has affected China’s real estate market and slowed economic growth in the country, has sold a range of assets to pay off debts. 

The company sold its stake in Shengjing Bank Company last September in a deal brokered by the local authorities.Evergrande is attempting to get creditors to approve a significant offshore debt restructuring plan.

Following its default in late 2021, the company is also facing lawsuits worth billions of dollars.

Cancer - Rising

The number of people aged under 50 diagnosed with cancer has surged worldwide in the last three decades, but it is not fully clear why. Cases of cancer among people aged 14 to 49 rose by nearly 80%, from 1.82 million to 3.26 million, between 1990 to 2019, according to the study published Sept 6 (2023) in the journal BMJ Oncology.

While experts cautioned that some of that increase was explained by population growth, previous research has also indicated that cancer is becoming more commonly diagnosed among under-50s. The international team of researchers behind the new study pointed to poor diet, smoking and alcohol as major risk factors underlying cancer in the age group.

Mortality - A little over one million people under 50 died of cancer in 2019, up 28% from 1990. The deadliest cancers were breast, oesophagus, lung, bowel and stomach cancers. Breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed over the three decades. But the cancers that rose the fastest were of the nasopharynx, where the back of the nose meets the top of the throat, and prostate. Liver cancer meanwhile, fell by 2.9% a year.

The researchers used data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study, analysing the rates of 29 different cancers in 204 countries. The more developed the country, the more likely it was to have a higher rate of under-50s diagnosed with cancer, the study said.

This could suggest that wealthier countries with better healthcare systems catch cancer earlier, but only a few nations screen for certain cancers in people under 50, the study added.
As well as poor diet, smoking and drinking, genetic factors, physical inactivity and obesity could also contribute to the trend, the study said.

What & How - Modelling predicted that the number of global cancer cases in under-50s will rise a further 31% by 2030, mostly among people aged 40-49. The researchers acknowledged that cancer data from different countries varied greatly, with developing nations potentially under-reporting cases and deaths.

Experts not involved in the study said the slower increase in deaths, compared to cases, was likely due to improvements in early detection and treatment. University of London, United Kingdom, professor of cell biology Dr Dorothy Bennett pointed out that the world’s population grew by roughly 46% between 1990 and 2019, accounting for some of the increasing cases.

Full understanding of the reasons driving the observed trends remains elusive, although lifestyle factors are likely contributing, and novel areas of research such as antibiotic usage, the gut microbiome, outdoor air pollution and early life exposures are being explored.

Wang Bin - China Life Insurance Company

The former chairman of China Life Insurance, Wang Bin, has become the latest high-profile boss to be imprisoned as Beijing's crackdown on the financial industry continues. Mr Wang was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, according to a court ruling seen by the BBC.
After two years, the sentence will be commuted to life in prison without parole, the ruling says.

In April, authorities warned that the crackdown was far from over. A court in Jinan in eastern China's Shandong province found Mr Wang guilty of taking 325 million yuan ($44.6m; £35.7m) in bribes.

Mr Wang, who was the firm's Communist Party chief, was also sentenced to a year in prison for illegally hiding 54.2 million yuan in overseas deposits.He is the latest boss from a major Chinese financial institution to be ensnared in President Xi Jinping's more than two-year longcrackdown on corruption in the $60 trillion (£48 trillion) industry.

In 2021, Lai Xiaomin, the former chairman of Huarong - was executed after being found guilty of corruption and bigamy. The same year, former China Development Bank chairman Hu Huaibang was sentenced to life in prison in a 85.5 million yuan bribery case.

Bao Fan, one of the country's most high-profile billionaire bankers and the chief executive of China Renaissance Holdings is co-operating with authority since his disappearing last February. An investigation into Bank of China's party chief Liu Liange was launched in March. Mr Liu is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and law,.

In April, authorities said they were investigating Li Xiaopeng, the former chairman of state-owned asset management firm China Everbright Group. Fan Yifei, a deputy governor of the country's central bank, was arrested for suspected bribery in June and is facing a criminal investigation. He has also been expelled from the Communist Party.

PasarPolis Poised For Expansion

Indonesian online insurance marketplace PasarPolis is aiming to bring its services to other Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia where it sees plenty of unrealized potential in its huge home market.

Founded in 2015 - PasarPolis, a so-called insurtech company based in Jakarta, offers products which are underwritten by larger insurance companies. Its investors include, SBI Investment, Xiaomi, Gojek and Tokopedia -- the latter two being the components of the merged ride-sharing and super app entity GoTo. Among PasarPolis' offerings are health and accident coverage for drivers and passengers using Gojek.

Indonesia - with a young and growing population of more than 270 million people, is the largest country in Southeast Asia and the fourth-biggest in the world. It's economy has been transformed in recent years through the emergence of local technology startups such as Bukalapak, Gojek and Tokopedia that have allowed consumers to access an array of services via smartphone.

Strategy - PasarPolis hopes to greatly simplify insurance in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries by offering full-stack digital insurance, meaning complete services from underwriting and pricing to sales, distribution and claim management. By automating the process, PasarPolis says it has reduced insurance costs to customers and created a convenient purchasing process and experience.

Traditional Distribution Channels - Insurance in Indonesia is still primarily sold through traditional channels such as agents and banks, and requires the filing of extensive paperwork. There is no efficient data-gathering system and process in Indonesia for the industry. This is a major problem resulting in high insurance premium, mis-selling and fraudulent claim. 

Digital Distribution - While PasarPolis still deploys agents, their primary distribution channel is through digital platforms like Gojek and Shopee, which allows them to reduce costs and slash premiums.

In Southeast Asia, insurance penetration tends to rise in tandem with a region's economic development, but the rate in Indonesia remains low compared to regional peers. According to data from Swiss Re Group, Indonesia's insurance penetration premiums stood at 1.6% of gross domestic product in 2021, far lower than Thailand's at 5.4% and Malaysia's at 5.3%.

90% of the people that bought insurance" from PasarPolis "are first-time consumers of insurance." PasarPolis says it issued over 500 million policies last year. The company's gross written premiums grew three times in 2022 from the previous year.

GX Bank Berhad - Malaysia

The Grab-led digital bank, GX Bank Bhd (GXBank) has completed an operational readiness review and has been approved to commence operations effective Sept 1, 2023, by the Minster of Finance and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). The latest development makes GXBank the first of the five digital bank license applicants to receive approval, and it is ahead of the April 2024 deadline set by BNM. 

GXBank said it will leverage technology and innovation to serve the needs of the unserved and underserved individuals, and micro and small medium enterprises (MSME). Additionally, the digital-only bank will support customers’ needs through various channels including a bank app and 24/7 customer support via multiple platforms.

GXBank is a subsidiary of GXS Bank Pte. Ltd., - the digital bank joint venture between Grab Holdings Limited and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) - and a consortium of other Malaysian investors, including Kuok Group.