Latest news with #Insurance(Amendment)Bill
AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- Business
- AsiaOne
MAS turns down ex-NTUC Income CEO's request to meet chairman Gan Kim Yong over Allianz matter, Singapore News
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday (June 23) that it has rejected former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Suee Chieh's request to meet chairman Gan Kim Yong or a senior MAS representative over the proposed transaction by German insurer Allianz to buy a controlling stake in NTUC Income. This was in response to Tan's letter to MAS on Jun 9, seeking a response to his April 28 open letter, as well as to request for such a meeting. Responding to Tan's three open letters between August 2024 and April 2025 on the Allianz-Income matter, MAS highlighted that the proposed transaction and amendments to the Insurance Act had been extensively debated in Parliament. "Nevertheless, if Mr Tan has further feedback or information to share with us, we will duly consider them," said the authority in a statement released a day ahead of Income's annual general meeting. MAS also said that it had shared Allianz' capital reduction plan with the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth (MCCY) after having received the insurer's preliminary business plan for Income in mid-July 2024. This was while the proposed transaction was still subject to regulatory approval. "After the Aug 6, 2024, Parliament sitting, while MAS did not have prudential grounds for concern about the transaction, we noted that the planned capital reduction could be relevant to MCCY's considerations, taking into account Income's prior status as a co-operative society," said MAS, adding that it was then that MAS surfaced this to the MAS board and shared it with MCCY. "Before then, MAS had not been aware of the representations that Income had made to MCCY when it was allowed to carry over S$2 billion in surplus to the new corporatised entity," it noted. After MAS shared the information with MCCY, the government moved to amend the Insurance Act and stop the transaction. MAS noted that MCCY found it "difficult to reconcile the proposed substantial capital reduction, soon after the transaction is completed, with Income's representations to MCCY during the corporatisation exercise that it was aiming to build up capital resources and enhance its financial strength". It further noted that MCCY was also "not satisfied that Income will be able to continue fulfilling its social mission after the proposed transaction". Parliament passed the Insurance (Amendment) Bill under a Certificate of Urgency on Oct 16, 2024. On Dec 16, Allianz withdrew its pre-conditional voluntary general offer. [[nid:708825]] This article was first published in The Business Times . Permission required for reproduction.
Business Times
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
MAS turns down ex-NTUC Income CEO's request to meet chairman Gan Kim Yong over Allianz matter
[SINGAPORE] The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday (Jun 23) that it has rejected former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Suee Chieh's request to meet chairman Gan Kim Yong or a senior MAS representative over the proposed transaction by German insurer Allianz to buy a controlling stake in NTUC Income. This was in response to Tan's letter to MAS on Jun 9, seeking a response to his Apr 28 open letter, as well as to request for such a meeting. Responding to Tan's three open letters between August 2024 and April 2025 on the Allianz-Income matter, MAS highlighted that the proposed transaction and amendments to the Insurance Act had been extensively debated in Parliament. 'Nevertheless, if Mr Tan has further feedback or information to share with us, we will duly consider them,' said the authority in a statement released a day ahead of Income's annual general meeting. MAS also said that it had shared Allianz' capital reduction plan with the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth (MCCY) after having received the insurer's preliminary business plan for Income in mid-July 2024. This was while the proposed transaction was still subject to regulatory approval. 'After the Aug 6, 2024, Parliament sitting, while MAS did not have prudential grounds for concern about the transaction, we noted that the planned capital reduction could be relevant to MCCY's considerations, taking into account Income's prior status as a co-operative society,' said MAS, adding that it was then that MAS surfaced this to the MAS board and shared it with MCCY. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'Before then, MAS had not been aware of the representations that Income had made to MCCY when it was allowed to carry over S$2 billion in surplus to the new corporatised entity,' it noted. After MAS shared the information with MCCY, the government moved to amend the Insurance Act and stop the transaction. MAS noted that MCCY found it 'difficult to reconcile the proposed substantial capital reduction, soon after the transaction is completed, with Income's representations to MCCY during the corporatisation exercise that it was aiming to build up capital resources and enhance its financial strength'. It further noted that MCCY was also 'not satisfied that Income will be able to continue fulfilling its social mission after the proposed transaction'. Parliament passed the Insurance (Amendment) Bill under a Certificate of Urgency on Oct 16, 2024. On Dec 16, Allianz withdrew its pre-conditional voluntary general offer.
Business Times
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
MAS denies ex-NTUC Income CEO's request to meet chairman Gan Kim Yong over Allianz matter
[SINGAPORE] The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday (Jun 23) that it has rejected former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Suee Chieh's request to meet chairman Gan Kim Yong or a senior MAS representative over the proposed transaction by German insurer Allianz to buy a controlling stake in NTUC Income. This was in response to Tan's letter to MAS on Jun 9, seeking a response to his Apr 28 open letter, as well as to request for such a meeting. Responding to Tan's three open letters between August 2024 and April 2025 on the Allianz-Income matter, MAS highlighted that the proposed transaction and amendments to the Insurance Act had been extensively debated in Parliament. 'Nevertheless, if Mr Tan has further feedback or information to share with us, we will duly consider them,' said the authority in a statement released a day ahead of Income's annual general meeting. MAS also said that it had shared Allianz' capital reduction plan with the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth (MCCY) after having received the insurer's preliminary business plan for Income in mid-July 2024. This was while the proposed transaction was still subject to regulatory approval. 'After the Aug 6, 2024, Parliament sitting, while MAS did not have prudential grounds for concern about the transaction, we noted that the planned capital reduction could be relevant to MCCY's considerations, taking into account Income's prior status as a co-operative society,' said MAS, adding that it was then that MAS surfaced this to the MAS board and shared it with MCCY. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'Before then, MAS had not been aware of the representations that Income had made to MCCY when it was allowed to carry over S$2 billion in surplus to the new corporatised entity,' it noted. After MAS shared the information with MCCY, the government moved to amend the Insurance Act and stop the transaction. MAS noted that MCCY found it 'difficult to reconcile the proposed substantial capital reduction, soon after the transaction is completed, with Income's representations to MCCY during the corporatisation exercise that it was aiming to build up capital resources and enhance its financial strength'. It further noted that MCCY was also 'not satisfied that Income will be able to continue fulfilling its social mission after the proposed transaction'. Parliament passed the Insurance (Amendment) Bill under a Certificate of Urgency on Oct 16, 2024. On Dec 16, Allianz withdrew its pre-conditional voluntary general offer.
CNA
29-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
GE2025: DPM Gan ‘surprised' at WP questions on Income-Allianz deal during rally, after not raising them in parliament
SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) should have raised its questions about the proposed deal between Income Insurance and German insurer Allianz when it was discussed in parliament last year, but it did not, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Tuesday (Apr 29). The aborted deal became an election campaign issue when WP chief Pritam Singh said last week that not a single labour MP had raised the matter in parliament. In its rally on Monday, the WP once again raised the issue, pointing to Mr Gan's role as chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) board of directors. MAS, as the financial regulator, would have had to approve the deal. Mr Gan said on Tuesday that he was 'surprised' that the opposition party reiterated their questions on the subject in its rally the day before, adding that the WP had its chance to do so and seek answers on the matter last year. 'I would have taken that they understood the issue, they accepted the issue,' said Mr Gan, who spoke to reporters in Punggol, where he is leading a four-member People's Action Party (PAP) in the contest against a WP team. The proposed deal, which was announced last July, was first discussed in parliament on Aug 6 last year, with questions to two political office holders filed by five People's Action Party MPs, one WP MP, one Non-constituency MP and a Nominated MP. The WP had eight MPs in parliament at the time. 'We talked about the deal, and that was the time when we said that we had a relatively positive attitude towards the deal. We want to support the deal, because it will help Income. But when more details were furnished, we decided to have to stop the deal,' said Mr Gan. After the deal was blocked, parliament again discussed it on Oct 16 during the debate on the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled to allow the government to block the acquisition. The debate lasted close to four hours and involved nearly 20 MPs from both sides of the House. The Bill was eventually passed with seven abstentions from the WP.
