Insurance alliance announced
JAKARTA (JP): New York-based Metropolitan Life (Metlife) Insurance Company and PT Tunasmas Panduarta of the widely diversified Tirtamas Group have agreed to set up a joint venture insurance company.
The company announced yesterday that Metlife would own a 62 percent stake in the new joint venture firm, to be named PT Metlife Sejahtera.
PT Tunasmas would own 33 percent and Bringin Life, another local insurance company, would hold the remaining 5 percent.
"We have obtained the approval from the Ministry of Finance. The joint venture partnership became official after the deal was finalized yesterday," the statement said.
"Metlife Sejahtera is expected to start selling products and services by the end of this year," it said.
Len Logan, a veteran Metlife consultant with extensive experience in Indonesian life insurance, would become the president of the new joint venture.
Metlife's chairman and chief executive officer, Harry P Kamen, said that Metlife's entry into the Indonesian insurance industry reinforced its global strategy of committing its resources to emerging insurance markets.
"Tunasmas Panduarta is an excellent strategic partner for this joint venture because it has a keen understanding of the financial needs of Indonesians," he said.
He said Metlife's experience and commitment to providing insurance solutions for individuals would complement its partners' expertise because Metlife could help create financial security for its future customers in Indonesia.
John H. Tweedie, executive vice president of Metlife's international operations, said Indonesia's population of 200 million people with a growing middle class would offer a great potential for the company to grow in Indonesia.
"We believe that enormous opportunities exist for insurers as Indonesia continues to experience a rapid increase in individual earnings and population," he said.
He said that Metlife's strategy would focus on developing a highly trained, professional career agency force and maximizing Tunasmas Panduarta's affiliation with Bank Papan Sejahtera to market personal insurance products.
Tweedie said the sales agents would initially focus on selling individual life insurance policies, including whole life and endowments which were Indonesia's major insurance products.
"Besides, distribution through Bank Papan Sejahtera will facilitate the marketing of mortgage reducing insurance products offered to those bank customers who are getting mortgage loans," he said.
Metlife has operations in Argentina, Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico, Portugal, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan and two representative offices in China.
Metlife, which currently serves around 40 million people around the world, has total assets of over US$320 billion. (aly)