Grab Acquires Majority Stake Of Atome

Grab Holdings Ltd agreed to buy a majority stake in Singapore-based buy-now-pay-later platform Atome Financial for US$1.49 billion (RM6.1 billion), staking a major bet on financial services as it builds out a new pillar of growth.

The ride-hailing and delivery firm is acquiring 60% of Atome as part of a deal with its parent Advance Intelligence Group and certain other parties. The purchase will give Grab a stronger foothold in the consumer lending business in Southeast Asia, helping it expand beyond its app ecosystem to spur growth and gain new customers. Grab now expects to grow its loan book to over US$6 billion by 2028, including Atome, compared with a previous target of more than US$3 billion by the end of this year.

Grab is trying to revive triple-digit growth that fell by the wayside years ago after fierce competition cut into its market share. The Uber Technologies Inc-backed company has rolled out new features to tempt users in countries with challenging economic conditions, like AI-powered tools and functions that allow customers to split rides with friends.

Shares of Grab have declined almost 40% in 2026, giving the company a market value of US$12.3 billion.

This year, Grab purchased Stash Financial Inc in the US at an enterprise value of US$425 million, as well as meal-delivery firm Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations from Delivery Hero SE for US$600 million.

Atome, which stands for “Available to me,” offers consumers flexible payment solutions at online and offline retailers in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, travel, fitness and homeware, according to its website. Its revenue in 2025 surged 80% to US$470 million, helping the company achieve its second-straight annual profit before taxes.

Indonesia Credit Insurance Under Stress

Indonesia's general insurance industry is facing mounting pressure in its credit insurance business as claim costs outpace premium growth and higher interest rates threaten to worsen loan quality, raising concerns about profitability and risk exposure across the sector.

The credit insurance loss ratio climbed above 100% again in the first quarter of 2026, signaling that insurers paid out more in claims than they collected in premiums, according to data from the Indonesian General Insurance Association (AAUI).

The association reported a claim ratio of 102% during the January-March period. Credit insurance claims rose 17% from a year earlier to Rp 4.2 trillion ($236 million), while premium income increased only 3.2% to Rp 4.1 trillion.

The deterioration comes despite Indonesia's relatively strong economic growth, suggesting that gains in the broader economy have yet to fully translate into stronger business conditions and household purchasing power.

The worsening claims trend coincides with signs of weakening credit quality in Indonesia's financial sector.

Data from the Financial Services Authority showed gross non-performing loans in the banking sector increased to 2.14% in March 2026 from 2.05% at the end of 2025. Loan-at-risk ratios also rose to 8.94% from 8.77%.

The financing industry experienced similar pressure. Gross non-performing financing climbed to 2.83% from 2.51%, while net non-performing financing edged up to 0.8% from 0.77%.

Rising claims ratio serves as a warning signal for the industry, adding that insurers may become more selective in underwriting credit insurance if current trends continue. Insurance companies are not only collecting premiums, but they also face rising reserve requirements as claims increase. This ultimately puts pressure on industry profitability.

The implementation of PSAK 117, Indonesia's latest insurance accounting standard, is also expected to encourage insurers to focus on business lines with healthier and more measurable risks. This latest accounting framework requires insurers to hold larger reserves for riskier businesses, making credit insurance portfolios with high claim rates less attractive.

Higher interest rates are adding another layer of concern. Bank Indonesia's tighter monetary policy and elevated benchmark interest rates could weaken borrowers' repayment capacity, particularly among companies experiencing limited growth.

Although not all bank loans are covered by insurance, deteriorating credit quality across the financial system could still lead to higher insurance claims.

Bank Indonesia has raised its benchmark BI Rate to 5.75%, bringing cumulative rate hikes to 100 basis points over the past month.

At the same time, the government is reportedly encouraging the consolidation of credit insurance and guarantee portfolios among several state-owned enterprises under Danantara Indonesia, the country's sovereign wealth fund. The initiative aims to centralize risk management within institutions specializing in credit guarantees, including state-owned guarantor Jamkrindo.

Under the proposed structure, general insurers would increasingly focus on traditional insurance lines, while credit guarantee businesses would be handled by specialized institutions.

Indonesia Introduces Deductibles On Medical Insurance

Indonesia's Life Insurance industry has backed new health insurance rules covering co-payments, deductibles, premium reviews and insurers’ medical and digital capabilities.

The Indonesian Life Insurance Association, or AAJI, said it supports the implementation of Financial Services Authority Regulation No. 36 of 2025, which is intended to strengthen the country’s health insurance system amid rising medical inflation, higher healthcare use and increasing premiums.

Under the rules, policyholders must pay 5% of each claim, capped at $16.9 (Rp300,000) for outpatient treatment and $169.1 (Rp3m) for inpatient treatment.

Deductibles will also be applied annually rather than to each individual event.

Insurers may review or reprice premiums no more than once a year, while waiting periods must not exceed six months. Companies must also strengthen their medical expertise, medical advisory boards and information systems.

AAJI said the changes are intended to help control healthcare costs and support premium stability rather than reduce policy benefits.

The association is also encouraging closer coordination between private insurers, Indonesia’s national health insurer BPJS Kesehatan and other healthcare funding providers.

Recapitalization Chinese Insurers

Beijing's plan to inject capital into big state-owned insurers is expected to ease capital constraints and solvency pressures that ‌have held back insurers from investing more long-term funds into the stock market.

Five state-owned insurers and three banks would raise up to a combined 360 billion yuan ($53.6 billion) through capital injections from the Ministry of Finance and other shareholders.
The finance ministry said it would issue 300 billion yuan in special bonds to fund the injections. 

It would mark the first time China has used special bonds to support insurers, extending a financing tool ​previously reserved for state-owned banks.

The recapitalization could help bolster state insurers that were directed to support the stock market with ⁠medium- and long-term funds, while positioning them to help regulators manage smaller, higher-risk insurance companies.

The share of assets invested in equities was only 21% at the end of 2025 based on five major listed mainland insurers. Beijing had asked insurers to invest 30% of new premiums into stocks from ​the beginning of last year.

Analysts said in a note that in the short term, the fresh capital would ease pressure on solvency ratios, particularly core solvency, that were negatively affected by a decline in government ​bond yields used to value liabilities. Over the medium term, it removes a constraint on insurers boosting long-term equity investments, and longer term it strengthens the ​capital base of state-owned insurers.

The state funds for insurers arrived sooner than anticipated. The finance ministry said in March it would issue special bonds to recapitalise banks, and many in the market had expected capital support for insurance groups would not materialise until 2027.

Five state insurers will receive a combined 70 billion yuan in capital from the ministry. China Life Insurance (Group) Co will receive 35 billion yuan and China Taiping Insurance Group 7 billion yuan, while PICC ​Group plans to raise up to ​15 billion yuan through a private ⁠A-share placement to the finance ministry.

The 60 billion yuan going to the four commercial insurance groups among the five – excluding policy insurer China Export & Credit Insurance Corp – is expected to support roughly 100 billion yuan of additional equity exposure.

The injections mirror a parallel policy push in the banking system, where officials are leaning on larger banks to absorb smaller, higher-risk ⁠peers to ​consolidate the industry. The scale of the state insurers' recapitalization is significantly smaller than ​the 200 billion yuan the market had expected earlier