BCA Considering Options

Indonesia's Bank Central Asia (BCA), Southeast Asia's biggest bank by market value, is considering strategic options for its life insurance unit including a potential stake sale. The Jakarta-listed lender, which has a market value of $74 billion as of Monday, is working with an adviser on a strategic review of PT Asuransi Jiwa BCA, also known as BCA Life.

Other options under consideration include establishing a joint venture with a foreign partner or a bancassurance partnership where an insurer can sell its products and services in a lender's branches for a period of time. 

BCA Life had total assets worth 2.34 trillion rupiah ($156.08 million) as of December 2022. BCA Life started operations in 2014 and is the only unit under BCA that offers life insurance services. BCA Life, which has up to 200 employees, offers insurance products including savings and health.

A potential deal could see BCA joining a list of lenders and insurers in Asia seeking tie-ups for their insurance subsidiaries. These include India's Kotak Mahindra Bank that is in talks to sell a stake in its general insurance unit to Zurich Insurance Group and Japanese insurer Tokio Marine Holdings tapping investment banks to work on a sale of its Southeast Asia life insurance business.