Insurance giant Aviva will sell its loss-making Friends Provident arm to International Financial Group for £340mn.
The sale was announced following a strategic review of Friends Provident International Limited, which made a post-tax loss of £2mn in 2016 and remitted no cash back to the parent company, Aviva said.
The sale will be made to RL360 Holding Company, which is a subsidiary of New York-based International Financial Group.
The sale is a “good outcome” for Aviva, said Chris Wei, executive chairman, Aviva Asia & FPIL. “It allows us to focus on the significant opportunities we have to grow Aviva’s business across Asia through digital and disrupting the traditional insurance industry.”
There will be no change in service for Friends Provident customers, Aviva said. The firm provides savings, investment and protection products to customers in Asia and the United Arab Emirates.
According to its website, Friends Provident has 500 employees with offices in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Isle of Man.
Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, has faced pressure in recent months to sell off non-core businesses, with its asset management arm in particular coming under particular scrutiny.
In May it sold half its Spanish life insurance and pension joint ventures for €475mn (£399mn). In March the firm outperformed profit expectations.
