South Korea-based insurance conglomerate Hanwha Life has forayed into Indonesian insurance market with a strategy to gain 1.5% share of the country’s insurance market.
The expansion follows the acquisition of 80% stake of PT Multicorlife Insurance in Indonesia for $13m, in December 2012, which offers an array of life insurance policies and services in the country, The Jakarta Post reported.
The purpose of the acquisition was to obtain a local business license, as Indonesian authorities do not allow new business approval for foreign companies, the company said at the time of takeover in 2012.
The acquired business, which has been rebranded as Hanwha Life Insurance Indonesia plans to hire 1,500 insurance agents and to secure 3,000 new insurance contracts worth IDR25bn ($2.25m) during 2014.
Going with its expansion strategy, Hanwha Life Insurance Indonesia aims to achieve an income of IDR1trn ($1bn), by 2018.
Hanwha Life global business division head Jae-hong Park was quoted by the news agency as saying, "Hanwha Life plans to strengthen its global business through its expansion to overseas markets."
"The firm plans to operate a fully-fledged business in October 2013 and plans to gain footholds in major cities in Indonesia, including the capital city of Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan in 2013," Park told the news portal.
Hanwha Life Insurance Indonesia director and chief agency officer Hendra Thanwijaya was quoted by the news agency as saying that the company had targeted to control 1.5% of Indonesia’s insurance market to become one of the country’s top ten insurance companies in ten years time.
In order to achieve the goal, the company has set up a headquarters in Ratu Plaza, South Jakarta, and three footholds in Jakarta, Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra.
"We are slated to open four branch offices in Semarang in Central Java, Pekanbaru in Riau and in Bali next year," Hendra added.