Singapore Oppose Allianz-Income Deal

The Singapore government plans to stop a proposed deal by Allianz SE to buy a majority stake in a homegrown insurance firm, three months after the transaction sparked a backlash from the public. The government assessed the proposal and decided it wouldn’t be “in the public interest” for the Income Insurance Ltd deal to proceed in its current form.

The government isn’t satisfied that Income can fulfil its social mission as a co-operative after the acquisition and is open to any new arrangement which Income may wish to pursue, whether with Allianz or any other partners, so long as the concerns highlighted are fully addressed.

In July, the German company said it planned to buy at least 51% of Income from NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Ltd to strengthen its presence in Asia. The proposed S$2.2 billion (US$1.7 billion) transaction drew criticism after it was announced.