News Digest 20100124-20100130

Insurance News Etiqa Takaful Bhd appoints Shahril Azuar Jimin as its new CEO. http://bit.ly/cxXiRn

Shahril Is New CEO Of Etiqa Takaful :: Bernama.com

Insurance News The government proposed in GTP for insurers to reduce insurance premiums for cars, motorcycles and houses installed with security features. But surely the motor tariff will have to go in the first place. Right? http://bit.ly/8XTcx5

Five initiatives shortlisted to check crime
The Home Ministry has shortlisted five initiatives to achieve the target of reducing the overall crime index by at least 5% by the end of this year, according to the GTP Roadmap.

Insurance News HSBC Amanah Takaful will launch 7 products this year, focusing on medical and retirement. http://bit.ly/cnBWIG Meanwhile, an insurance survey by HSBC shows that 49% of Malaysians plan to save more in the next 6 months. 58% of the survey respondents are likely to buy products that offer capital protection. http://bit.ly/9L05nT

HSBC Amanah Takaful to launch 7 products in 2010
HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the Islamic insurance arm of HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, plans to launch up to seven products this year. Chief executive officer Zainuddin Ishak said the company is now focused on traditional long-term plans such as retirement and medical health. ...

Insurance News Zurich Financial now says it wants to have controlling stake in its joint venture in Malaysia but would do it in such a way that all parties are comfortable. Zurich Financial currently holds 40% stake in the JV. http://bit.ly/cF3fXV

Zurich Financial eyes controlling stake in Malaysian venture
DAVOS: Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services Ltd is exploring ways to take a controlling stake in its Malaysian joint venture and grow its business in Indonesia, its Asia-Pacific head said yesterday. ...

Insurance News Great Eastern denies that it is in talks to sell a stake in Malaysian unit. http://bit.ly/a9hgGR

Great Eastern not in talks to sell stake in Malaysian unit
GREAT Eastern Holdings Ltd (GEH) said it is not in talks to sell a stake in its Malaysian insurance arm, Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd (GELM). "We wish to state that we are currently not ...

Insurance News Allianz General is paying profit commission of RM6.26 mil to its qualifying agents (25% of its agency force) before Chinese New Year. http://bit.ly/81tH9B

Allianz pays commissions to agents early
Allianz General Insurance Co (M) Bhd (AGIC) kept its promise for the fourth consecutive year by making an early profit commission payment.In a statement today, AGIC's chief executive officer Ng Hang Ming ...

Insurance News Tokio Marine is targeting a lower growth rate of 10% in 2010 compared with the 20% it achieved in 2009. However, it still expects to outpace the industry's expected growth rate of 6-7%. Prefers non-motor lines of business e.g. fire, marine, cargo and PA. Not ruling out acquisition. http://bit.ly/81WhB0

Tokio Marine expects 10% premium growth this year
KUALA LUMPUR: Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd (TMIM) expects a premium growth of between five to 10 per cent this year, its chief executive officer Dr Michael Heng Kiah Ngan, said Tuesday.

Insurance News Will Great Eastern divests it stake in Malaysia? How much is the divestment, if any? Is Khazanah the suitor or any other parties? Is divestment a pre-condition of being granted the takaful licence? Would IPO be an option if a direct shareholder cannot be found? This article may shed some light. http://bit.ly/8iwedl

Khazanah said among suitors for Great Eastern
A group of potential suitors, including state-owned investment agency Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is said to have lined up for a stake in Singapore's Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd to help realise the insurer's takaful ambition. ...

Insurance News Takaful Malaysia won the Global Diamond Award while its Group MD Hassan Kamil won the "Smart Entrepreneur" Award. http://bit.ly/6YbYwS

Takaful Malaysia, group MD win major awards

Insurance News While many may think that China and India markets are hot, Prudential is scaling back its growth ambitions in both countries. Instead investment would be pushed into fast-growing economies in southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. The reason for such decision seems to be the slow relaxation of restrictions on foreign ownership of financial firms in China and India. http://bit.ly/7CJkyf

Prudential to Scale Back on India, China - NYTimes.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest insurer Prudential has begun a shake-up of its Asian business that will see it scale back its ambitions for growth in India and China, The Sunday Times said.

Insurance News LIAM, ACE Synergy and Prudential spoke on 2010 outlook and challenges. http://bit.ly/8H8IxQ

Malaysian insurers in for better times
PETALING JAYA: Despite facing some hurdles, the local insurance industry has a promising outlook with new life business weighted premium forecast to grow 12.5% to RM3.6bil this year.

News Digest 20100117-20100123

Insurance News TokioMarine has promoted Deputy CEO Dr Michael Heng as CEO, replacing PhangKwang Chee who has helmed the top post for the past 9 years. TokioMarine's market share grew from 48th position in 1999 to 5th position last year. http://bit.ly/7AXC0g

Tokio Marine names new CEO
Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd today announced the appointment of Dr Michael Heng Kiah Ngan as its new chief executive officer.Heng, who was previously the company's deputy chief executive officer, ...

Insurance News Etiqa launches Triple Lifestyle Protector. Features: 15% SA paid every 3 years from 5th policy year; 100% SA returned at maturity; premium payment period of 20 years or until age 85. http://bit.ly/7vkOOd http://bit.ly/8KXxzy

BERNAMA - Etiqa Insurance Jangka Pelan Terbaharu Dapat Sambutan Baik
KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Jan (Bernama) -- Etiqa Insurance Bhd menjangka pelan Triple Lifestyle Protector yang dilancarkan baru-baru ini di mana ia menawarkan pelbagai faedah di bawah satu polisi mendapat sambutan yang baik. ...

Insurance News Prudential is targeting the largely untapped and underserved bumiputera market, focusing on young generation especially those below age 25. Great Eastern has also previously unveiled strategies that include targeting young generation. http://bit.ly/6nHL5D http://www.actuaries.com.my/news/2010/01/strategies-of-prudential-and-great.html

Prudential to tap into growing Bumi market
LEADING life insurer Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd wants to tap into the growing Bumiputera market by increasing its Bumiputera agents, said its top executive. Chief executive officer Charlie Oropeza ...

Insurance News Prudential launches an aggressive branding campaign covering 9 markets in the region in 7 languages on "The Power of Listening". http://bit.ly/5XgKaj

The power of listening
PRUDENTIAL Corporation Asia recently launched “The Power of Listening”, its largest branding campaign in its 85-year history in Asia.The campaign reinforces the company’s “Always Listening. Always Understanding” ...

Insurance News Tune Money aims to double insurance policies sold to 3,000-4,000 this year. Currently it partners Multi-Purpose for motor insurance and Tokio Marine for PA and home insurance. Takaful is in the pipeline as well as H&S, life, travel and pets. http://bit.ly/8Ne1wd http://bit.ly/5kaKoB

Tune Money aims for RM4m net profit this year
ONLINE financial services provider Tune Money Sdn Bhd, which has been profitable since last April, aims for a net profit of up to RM4 million this year as it grows its prepaid card and insurance base. ...

Insurance News Zurich Financial has come out to clarify that the partners in MCIS Zurich are still keen to work together although admitting some of the facts reported earlier on the tension in the relationship were not wrong. Zurich Financial is also not selling its stake in MCIS Zurich. http://www.actuaries.com.my/news/2009/12/no-strained-ties-between-shareholders.html http://bit.ly/7Guc11

MCIS Zurich owners deny rift, remain keen on takaful ops
MCIS Zurich Insurance Bhd's major shareholders have denied that there is any rift between them and say they remain keen to build the business together. They also denied that Switzerland's largest insurer, Zurich Financial Services Ltd (Zurich FS), might sell its shares in MCIS Zurich. ...

Insurance News Allianz General launched a Directors' and Officers' liabilities insurance product. http://bit.ly/54HdEh

Allianz debuts product for corporate leaders
Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Bhd (AGIC) today launched a new generation of insurance protection, specially tailored for leaders of Malaysian corporations."Allianz Protect Platinum goes ...

Insurance News MFPC launches Syariah RFP programme, appoints MPM as examination facilitator. http://bit.ly/6MHuhm

Insurance News Takaful Ikhlas is the winner of best brand in the services -Islamic protection and the healthcare insurance categories. http://bit.ly/7TIDUk

Takaful wins Brand Laureate awards
TAKAFUL Ikhlas Sdn Bhd has won two awards at the BrandLaureate SMEs Chapter Awards 2009 for brands in corporate branding. It was named the best brand in the services -Islamic protection and the healthcare insurance categories. ...

News Digest 20100110-20100116

Insurance News It is TM Asia's turn to say that they want to double their premiums, but this time it seems to be a target set for only Sabah or the most for East Malaysia. The company also wants to be 1 of the top 5 in 2 to 3 years' time mainly through its agency force. http://bit.ly/6BDdfE

TM Asia Life aims to double premium
TM Asia Life Malaysia Bhd, which has embarked on an expansion plan in East Malaysia, hopes to double new business premium with the opening of its new premises in Kota Kinabalu. The company, with a strong ...

Insurance News Vincent Kwo is now COO for MAA. http://bit.ly/8O41Hb

MAA appoints chief operating officer
MALAYSIAN Assurance Alliance Bhd (MAA) has appointed Vincent Kwo Shih Kang as chief operating officer from January 2. Kwo, 49, graduated from City University, London, in 1982 where he obtained a Degree ...

Insurance News AXA Affin does not rule out acquisition to achieve its 8% market share target. Our view is that this may in fact be a more feasible route given that doubling the premiums every year is not an easy task at all. Perhaps AXA should explore with UOB and see whether the latter has intention to sell its insurance units in Malaysia? http://bit.ly/6dFGcH

AXA Affin not ruling out acquisitions, partnerships
AXA Affin Life Insurance Bhd hopes to grow its share of the local life insurance market from 1.5 per cent to 8 per cent by 2012, as it undertakes a AXA global branding exercise.Its chief executive officer ...

Insurance News It is unusual to have an Islamic bank that doesn't have any takaful operations to comment on takaful. OCBC Al-Amin commented that the growth of takaful lagged behind Islamic banking. Great Eastern, which is owned by OCBC, is believed to have applied for 1 of the 2 new takaful licences to be issued this year. GE has also recruited the ex-CEO of Prudential BSN to enhance its chance of getting the new licence. http://bit.ly/6hKEVH

Malaysian takaful growth lags banks
Growth in Malaysia’s takaful Islamic insurance industry has lagged the sharia banking sector as insurers struggle to find a home for premiums and players lack distribution channels, Singapore’s ...

Insurance News AXA Afiin Life needs to double premiums to be top 5 player by year 2012. http://www.actuaries.com.my/news/2010/01/axa-affin-life-needs-to-double-premiums.html

Insurance News: AXA Affin Life needs to double premiums
www.actuaries.com.my
Axa Affin Life has a huge target to achieve by year 2012. It has to grow its market share from the current 1.5% to 8%, to be among the top 5 in the industry. Its NB premium was RM162 mil in 2009, the target set for 2010 is RM320 mil and RM100 mil for total premiums and weighted premiums respectively...

Insurance News Dedicated to all our readers who are insurance agents. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysA-wtl8-YI&feature=autofb

Insurance agent - Bangkok Life advertisement
Bangkok Life Assurance advertisement

Insurance News CIMB Aviva Takaful launched EasyLife Takaful Series and expects to secure contributions of RM35-40 mil. The takaful player aims to increase its market share from the current 2-3% to 5% in 2 years time. There are currently 8 takaful players in the market with 2 new licences to be issued soon. http://bit.ly/6nmFtQ http://bit.ly/6p0TRW http://bit.ly/5Q3TlO

CIMB Aviva aims for 5pc market share
CIMB Aviva Takaful Bhd is looking to increase its market share to five per cent in two years in line with the steady growth of the takaful industry, chief executive officer Muhammad Fikri Mohamad Rawi ...

Insurance News CIMB Wealth Advisors which started distribution for AIA since March 2009 secured RM7.6 mil premium in 2009. It sets a target of RM25 mil for 2010 planning to tie up with more insurers after obtaining its financial advisor licence. http://bit.ly/6ceiyR

CIMB Wealth sees RM25m premiums
CIMB Wealth Advisors Bhd aims to secure RM25 million premium this year from insurance and takaful products, chief executive officer Tan Beng Wah said today.The company managed to secure RM7.6 million premium ...

PruBSN's new CEO

Azim Mithani will soon become the CEO of Prudential BSN Takaful.

Earlier post: More actuaries are becoming CEOs

Source: The Star

New CEO for TM Asia Life

Kenneth Wong has been appointed as the CEO for TM Asia Life Malaysia.

Earlier posts:

• Kenneth Wong leaving BNM
• More actuaries are becoming CEOs

Source: The Star

Great Eastern hires takaful head

Great Eastern hired Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad some 2 months ago to head its future takaful unit. Salihuddin was previously CEO for Prudential BSN. It is believed that his previous position in PruBSN has recently been filled.

Great Eastern is applying for 1 of the 2 new takaful licences to be awarded by BNM later this year.

Source: Business Times, TASclusive

HLA has new CEO

HLA has promoted Loh Guat Lan from COO to CEO, replacing Charlie Oropeza who has earlier joined Prudential Malaysia as CEO.

Guat Lan is believed to be the 2nd lady CEO in life insurance industry in Malaysia after Dr Nirmala.

Statistics on HLA:

• Gross premium growth: 17.8% (FY 6/08 to FY 6/09)
• NB growth (CY 07 to CY 08)
• Regular premium: 41.7%
• Total premium: 17.7%

Source: Business Times, The Edge

Charlie's appointment approved

Charlie Oropeza's appointment as CEO of Prudential has been approved by BNM on 11 August 2009.

Earlier post: Charlie to become Prudential's CEO

Source: Business Times

Uni.Asia General new CEO

Uni.Asia General is tipped to have a new CEO, and the candidate is tipped to be David Tan from MAA. David is currently the EVP for General Corporate Client and Schemes for MAA.

Information on Uni.Asia General:

• Gross Premiums: RM410.4 mil (FY09) vs RM349.5 mil (FY08), growth: 17.4%
• Market share: 3.7%
• Rank: 10th
• Pre-tax loss: RM5.8 mil (FY09), pre-tax profit: RM24.1 mil (FY08)

Earlier posts: Uni.Asia General CEO resigns, New COO for Uni.Asia General

Source: The Star

Axa Affin Life to have a new CEO

Loke Kah Meng (pic) is tipped to be the next CEO of Axa Affin Life Insurance in Malaysia. He is due to report to work in early August.

It is learned that Loke's physical last day with Great Eastern was yesterday.

Loke was the EVP of Customer Management and Chief Marketing Officer at Great Eastern. He was heavily involved in the Centennial Campaign at Great Eastern when Great Eastern celebrated its 100th year anniversary last year.

A Fellow of Society of Actuaries, Loke worked in AIA as appointed actuary and Manulife as CFO and appointed actuary prior to joining Great Eastern.

Source: TAS Blogger

Charlie to become Prudential's CEO

HLA's group MD & CEO Charlie E. Oropeza is tipped to be Prudential's next CEO. Charlie's last day with HLA is believed to be at the end of May.

Prior to joining HLA on 11/7/2007, Charlie was the CEO of Prudential Vietnam and Indonesia.

Source: The Star

Resignation of 3 CEOs

3 insurance CEOs have recently resigned:

• Cliff Lee, Tahan Insurance Malaysia Bhd
• Vincent Kwo, AXA Affin Life Assurance
• Mohd Fauzi Yaakub, Uni.Asia General Insurance Bhd

Cliff Lee was also PIAM's chairman previously. The position has been taken over by the then deputy chairman Mohd Yusof Idris, CEO of Oriental Capital Insurance Bhd.

Some industry statistics:

• Gross premiums for GI: RM11.32 bil (2008) vs RM10.45 bil (2007), growth rate: 8.37%
• NB premiums for Life: RM7.13 bil (2008) vs RM7.6 bil (2007), growth rate: -6.2%

Source: The Star

Edmund Tse retires

AIG's Edmund Tse is retiring after serving the firm for almost 50 years. Rodney O. Martin, Jr. will be appointed to the post of chairman of International Life and Retirement Services, and chairman of AIA and ALICO.

Source: Insurance Daily

Great Eastern has new CIO

Great Eastern has a new Chief Investment Officer, Richard Lin Kwok Wing, who is former HLG Asset Management Sdn Bhd executive director and CEO. Richard took over from Chan Choong Tho.

Source: The Star

Prudential to change CEO

Prudential's chief executive, Mark Tucker, will step down in September 2009, to be replaced by the CFO, Tidjane Thiam.

Meanwhile, Prudential's new business profit in Asia grew 15% to £741 mil in 2008.

Source: Insurance Daily

Bakarudin now AG of BNM

Encik Bakarudin bin Ishak was appointed as Assistant Governor of BNM effective 5/3/2009. Bakarudin held the post of Director of the Islamic Banking and Takaful Department prior to his appointment as AG of BNM.

Source: BNM

HSBC Amanah Takaful has new CEO

HSBC Amanah Takaful has appointed Zainudin Ishak as the new CEO. Zainudin was previously CEO for CIMB Aviva Takaful.

Source: Bernama

CIMB Aviva's new CEOs

Life: Kevin Jones
Takaful: Muhammad Fikri Mohamad Rawi

Kevin joined CIMB Aviva in August 2008 and was the COO.

Muhammad Fikri joined CIMB Aviva in 2006.

Source: Business Times

Prudential's CEO resigns

Prudential's CEO in Malaysia, Bill Lisle has jumped ship to become a regional director with Aviva Asia.

Bill became Prudential's CEO in April 2008.

Source: Business Times

Asia PRISM

TM Asia Life launched Asia PRISM and targeting RM20 mil premiums in 2009.

Product features:

• PRISM stands for Protection, Retirement, Income and Savings, packaged within 1 Managed fund.
• Premium payment term: 20 years
• Guaranteed cash payment after 10 years (5 to 6.5% of SA), payable up to age 90
• After 10 years in force, can be converted to a fully paid-up policy
• It is a 3-generation product, similar to other such products in the market
• Entry age: 1 month to 65 years
• Sample premium: Age 35, SA: RM25,000, Premium: RM4,500
• Waiver of premiums if diagnosed with 36 CIs

On related news, Kenneth Wong (rightmost in picture) is now the General Manager of TM Asia, after leaving BNM.

Source: Business Times, TAS Research

Anusha is now the CFO

Anusha Thavarajah has been appointed the CFO and CRO of ING Malaysia effective 1 January 2009.

Previously Anusha was the appointed actuary of ING.

Source: Business Times

HLTMT names new CEO

Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful has appointed Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar as its new CEO.

Source: Business Times

Manulife names new CEO

Manulife Insurance Bhd has promoted Kevin McWhinney as its new CEO. Prior to his promotion, Kevin was the EVP of Distribution since January 2006.

Source: Business Times

News in Brief - Dec 23, 2008

1. Commerce Assurance Bhd's general insurance business will be transferred to Alllianz General Insurance Company (M) Bhd on 1 Jan 2009.
2. Manulife Asset Management (M) Sdn Bhd (MAMM), the asset management arm of Manulife Holdings Bhd, will launch 3 funds: equity, fixed income and syariah-compliant.
3. Mohd Fauzi Yaakub is the new CEO for Uni.Asia General Insurance Bhd. Fauzi became COO for the same company in April 2008.

Source: The Star 1 & 2, Business Times

MSIG Keen on M&A

MSIG Insurance (M) Bhd is keen to pursue M&A strategy in Malaysia. The company acquired Aviva Insurance Bhd 2 years ago and does not rule out further acquisitions.

Other information on MSIG:

• No. 1 market share in marine cargo insurance (22.2%)
• No. 1 market share in Fire insurance (10.6%)
• Distribution channels: agency (35%), direct business (23%), motor business (14%), broker business (9%), bancassurance (7%)
• Gross premiums: RM710 mil (2007), RM702 mil (2006)

The current CEO, Song Yam Lim, will retire end of the year and Executive Director, Kenichi Fukuhara, will take over as the new CEO effective 1 Jan 2009.

Source: The Star

Ng Keng Hooi Joins Great Eastern

Prudential's former chairman for Malaysia Ng Keng Hooi has taken up a new role in Great Eastern Singapore as the group CEO effective 1 December 2008. He took over from Tan Beng Lee, 65, who retired recently.

Source: The Star

Dato' Aminuddin Md Desa returns as CEO

Dato' Aminuddin Md Desa is going back to Maybank Fortis Holdings as its CEO effective 1 Nov 2008.

Dato' Aminuddin has over 20 years' working experience in the insurance industry. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Takaful Nasional Sdn Bhd from 2001 to 2005 prior to being appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Mayban Fortis Holdings Berhad in December 2005, a position he held until 30 November 2007.

From 1 December 2007 to 30 January 2008, Dato' Aminuddin was CFO designate for Maybank Group and he became the CFO from 31 January 2008, a position he held until 30 October 2008.

Source: The Star, Maybank & Bursa Malaysia

Manulife's CEO Resigns

Peter Robertson, the CEO of Manulife Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad, has resigned and he would leave the company on 11 November 2008.

Peter joined Manulife in 2006. He is an actuary (Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries) by training.

Source: Bursa

Mark O'Dell Resigned from AIA Singapore

Mark O'Dell resigned on Thursday from AIA Singapore. It is believed that he is joining Manulife, Taiwan as General Manager.

AIA said that Mark's resignation is not related to the recent events affecting AIA/AIG.

Source: Reuters

Kurnia's New CEO

Captain K.H. Chia is now the new CEO of Kurnia Insurance. Capt. Chia is well known in the insurance industry, he served as Hong Leong Assurance's CEO before moving to Prudential in China. Captain is also 1 of the past presidents of LIAM.

Source: Business Times

HSBC Amanah Takaful Appoints New CEO

Mohammed Muqeem is the new CEO of HSBC Amanah Takaful effective 2/6/2008. He joined HSBC group in 2004.

Muqeem started his career in the insurance industry in 1969 in India. He has worked in the Middle East in both Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

Source: The Edge Daily

New CEOs

Allianz Life: Alexander Ankel
Allianz General: Ng Hang Ming

Source: The Star

ACR Retakaful

Business Times reported that Khazanah will set up the 3rd retakaful operator in Malaysia named ACR Retakaful.

• Capital of US$100 mil.


• Owned by Khazanah (40%), Dubai Islamic Investment Group Ltd (40%) and Asia Capital Reinsurance Group Ptd Ltd (ACR) (20%).


• Operational license expected to be granted by end of May 2008.


• Zainal Abidin Mohd Noor, the former CEO of Etiqa, is expected to be the chief.

Source: Business Times

New COO for Uni.Asia General

Mohd Fauzi Yaakub is now the new Chief Operating Officer of Uni.Asia General.

He was previously the senior general manager of the corporate services division with responsibilities over day-to-day operations of branches, marketing and corporate communications, IT, compliance assurance, legal affairs and recovery, property and general administration.

He joined Uni.Asia General in July 2000 as chief internal auditor.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/2/business/20816861&sec=business

MNRB's New Group CEO

Anuar Mohd Hassan (pictured) has been appointed new President and Group CEO of MNRB. He was previously President & CEO of Malaysian Reinsurance Bhd, a subsidiary of MNRB.

Meanwhile, Hashim Harun, formerly CEO of Uni.Asia General Insurance Bhd, has taken over as the President & CEO of Malaysian Reinsurance Bhd.

Both appointments take effect on 1 April 2008.

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Tuesday/BizBriefs/mnrb31.xml/Article/

Kenneth Wong Leaving BNM

Kenneth Wong, the Senior Actuary of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), today announced that he was leaving BNM, after 3 and 1/2 years with them. His last day with BNM is apparently 31 March 2008.

There is no news on where he is heading to.

A replacement apparently is being identified and will be announced soon. Meanwhile, Kenneth announced that business was as usual in BNM as they have a strong and capable actuarial team in the Bank.

HSBC Amanah Takaful CEO Leaving

According to a reliable source, HSBC Amanah Takaful CEO, Keith Driver, is leaving Malaysia. It is said that he is heading for India.

It is still unclear who will succeed Keith as the new CEO.

Keith came to Kuala Lumpur to start HSBC Amanah Takaful in early 2006, after a new takaful license was awarded to the joint consortium of HSBC Insurance, EPF and Jerneh.