Howden increases its investment in Malaysia

Howden, part of the Hyperion Insurance Group and the world’s largest independent retail broker, today announced that it has agreed to acquire a strategic stake in Malene Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. (‘Malene’).

Malene is a leading Malaysian independent niche broker in the energy and power sector, and a takaful specialist.

Malene will join Howden’s other Malaysian business, CIMB Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. (‘CIMB Howden’), under one common locally incorporated holding company HBG Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

HBG Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. has agreed to purchase the remaining 51% of shares in CIMB Howden that were held by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.’s subsidiary, CIG Bhd., further reinforcing Howden’s commitment in this strategically important market.

Both CIMB Howden and Malene will rebrand as ‘Howden’ with CIMB Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. being renamed as Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. and Malene Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. being renamed as Howden Takaful Brokers Sdn. Bhd. Together, they will be the second largest broker multinational broker in Malaysia.

CIMB Howden is a specialist Financial Lines, Corporate Risks and Employee Benefits broker and Malene a niche broker with a strong portfolio of corporate clients within the Power, Oil and Gas, Transportation and Ports sectors.

Jose Manuel Gonzalez, CEO of Howden Broking Group, commented: “Investing in the right partners in Asia is a key priority for Howden as we continue to broaden our distribution of specialist solutions for clients. By partnering with Malene, we build on Howden’s existing Islamic finance in the Middle East and move closer towards building a leading global takaful capability.”

Goh Chye Huat, Regional CEO, Howden Asia added: “Since CIMB Howden joined us in 2015 the business has gone from strength to strength. Our latest investments in Malaysia are an important step in achieving our vision of being a leader in each of the markets that we operate in across Asia. I look forward to watching our operations in Malaysia continue to thrive.”

Eddy Hon, Country Manager for Howden Malaysia, commented: “It has long been a key priority for us to better serve government-linked companies and related agencies and the local business community and we have found, in Malene, the perfect partner. Malene’s areas of specialist expertise are extremelycomplementary to ours and will serve as an enhancement to our specialty portfolio.”

Tunku Abang Faisal Amir, CEO of Malene, said: “We are excited to join forces with Howden. With access to their global specialist insurance expertise, and reach across over 90 territories, we will be able to enhance our offering to existing clients and, together, we will present a more compelling proposition to new ones.”

Jeffrey Chan will remain as CEO of Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. Ismam Shahrin Ismail, will step up from his role as General Manager of Malene to become CEO of Howden Takaful Brokers Sdn. Bhd. (subject to regulatory approval). Tunku Abang Faisal Amir will be Chairman of Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. and on the board of both Howden Takaful Brokers Sdn. Bhd. and HBG Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Eddy Hon remains as Country Manager for Howden Malaysia and on the board of Howden Insurance Brokers Sdn. Bhd. and HBG Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.