[SINGAPORE] Income Insurance is “keeping its options open” over various share liquidity options, which could include a share-buyback programme, said its retiring chairman Ronald Ong at the insurer’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday (Jun 24).
He reiterated that if German insurer Allianz’s proposed offer in July 2024 to buy a majority stake in Income for around S$2.2 billion had gone through, it could have strengthened the home-grown insurer’s competitiveness.
It would have also been a way to meet Income’s minority shareholders’ “persistent, strong and increasingly urgent request” for a viable liquidity option.
“If Allianz’s offer were approved, launched and accepted by shareholders, these shareholders would have a share liquidity option to unlock the value of their shares at S$40.58 per share,” he said, noting that shareholders had been making their request since Income’s corporatisation in 2022.
Ong cited the minority shareholders’ request as a priority if the deal were to proceed: “To facilitate this and prioritise their request, the minority shareholders would be accorded priority to tender their shares, and only after that, would NTUC Enterprise tender its shares on the last day of the offer, and only to the extent that would result in Allianz holding at least 51 per cent of the shares of Income Insurance.”
At the time of Allianz’s offer, NTUC Enterprise Co-operative held 77.98 million shares, or 72.8 per cent of the 107.2 million shares in Income. Minority shareholders accounted for the remaining 27.2 per cent.
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Following heavy debate in Parliament, the deal was called off by the Singapore government on Oct 14, 2024, after the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) raised concerns over whether the deal would affect Income Insurance’s ability to carry out its social mission.
Ong noted: “One key point was that there was no clear binding provision in the deal to ensure that Income Insurance’s social mission would be discharged, though MCCY accepts that NTUC Enterprise made in good faith its commitment to maintain Income Insurance’s social mission. We will take MCCY’s concerns fully on board.”
Ong also disclosed that the board has proposed that lead independent director Joy Tan take over as chair, subject to her re-election at the AGM and regulatory approvals.
Income Insurance announced on Jun 9 that Ong would retire from the chairmanship and move on to steer NTUC Enterprise’s private investment portfolio.
He was appointed as Income’s chairman in December 2018, and had already put 20 years into Morgan Stanley at the time. In February 2023, he was appointed chairman of the bank’s South-east Asia business.
In a separate speech, Income chief executive officer Andrew Yeo reiterated that Ong has recused himself from the appointment of Morgan Stanley as the financial adviser in the deal with Allianz.
“However, as chairman of the Income Insurance Board, he could participate in discussions relating to the transaction,” said Yeo, stressing the board and management’s commitment to upholding good corporate governance.
Income’s board has proposed a special dividend of S$0.208 a share, bringing the total dividend for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 to S$0.416 a share.
Total assets grew 2.5 per cent on the year to S$43.4 billion, and net asset value per share stood at S$31.97, noted Yeo.
Profit after tax for the financial year stood at S$44.8 million, on the back of a diverse insurance business in which improved investment returns and strong performance of the general insurance business moderated the impact of high medical inflation across the health portfolio, he added.
