KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional Bhd's unit Avicennia Capital Sdn Bhd and the latter's subsidiary Sun Life Malaysia Assurance Bhd have announced the appointments of new chief executive officers.
Avicennia Capital appointed Ooi Say Teng as CEO while Sun Life Malaysia picked Raymond Lew Yung Chow as CEO and president. The appointments took effect on May 1.
Lew will also take on the role of country head, overseeing the insurance businesses of Sun Life in Malaysia.
In a joint statement, they said Ooi joined Avicennia Capital from Sun Life Malaysia where he was previously the CEO.
As for Lew, he takes over the post from Ooi as the new CEO at Sun Life Malaysia. He was previously the deputy CEO.
Avicennia Capital has a strategic investment in Sun Life Malaysia and Sun Life Malaysia Takaful via a 49% stake in these companies, acquired in April 2013.
“Avicennia’s investment strategy targets leading insurance companies that have reached, or are reaching, critical mass and show sustainable growth trajectories with potential investment returns,” it said.
Avicennia Capital, incorporated on Jan 17, 2013, is a unit of Khazanah Nasional. As the insurance holding company for Khazanah, Avicennia Capital was awarded the financial holding status by Bank Negara Malaysia on Nov 19, 2014.
Apart for Avicennia Capital's 49% stake in Sun Life Malaysia Assurance and Sun Life Malaysia Takaful Bhd, it also also fully owns Acibadem Saglik Ve Hayat Sigorta A.S., one of Turkey's leading health insurance companies.
Avicennia Capital chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad bin Raja Tun Uda said: “Ooi Say Teng is an excellent and natural fit for Avicennia Capital and brings more than 30 years of insurance industry experience to the role.
“In his most recent role leading our portfolio investment company, Sun Life Malaysia, Ooi achieved outstanding success that will be particularly relevant in assisting Avicennia in its own growth story. During his tenure at Sun Life Malaysia, he was instrumental in driving the development of the business in Malaysia, forging close ties with key partners, doubling the company’s market share and rapidly growing the bancassurance business with one of Malaysia’s biggest banks.
“We are delighted to have him on board to deliver on Avicennia’s growth ambitions and expand the company’s insurance portfolio in the coming years.”
Meannwhile, commenting on Lew's appointment, Sun Life Financial Asia president Kevin Strain said: “Raymond is an energetic leader who rapidly built his knowledge of our Malaysia business since he joined us in 2013.
“He was instrumental in building trust and relationships with key business partners; securing new partnerships, launching and growing the very successful Insurance Specialists channel, all of which have led to the remarkable sales transformation of Sun Life Malaysia.”
The statement said Avicennia Capital plans to build a solid market presence in Malaysia, and is active in searching for opportunities in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere.
It said this journey has already begun with the investments in Sun Life Malaysia and Acibadem Saglik Ve Hayat Sigorta A.S., one of Turkey's top-ranked health insurance services companies, and will be further expanded across the region going forward.
Since 2013, Sun Life Malaysia has rolled out more than 47 new products, increased revenue to more than RM1bil and placed more than 1.5 million policies into force.
“Moving forward, Sun Life Malaysia is aiming to maintain its position as a leading bancassurance player, and concurrently seek to climb into a top five insurance industry position in Malaysia through new products and services and a focus on new distribution areas such as telco-assurance and agency through the leveraging of digital, data analytics and talent,” it said.
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