Prudential pays out £192 million for Asian bank's insurance arm

The Prudential, Britain's biggest insurer, went on a £192 million shopping spree today, buying the life insurance arm of a major Asian bank to beef up its presence in the region.

The Pru also struck a 12-year partnership with the Singapore-based bank, United Overseas, whereby it will distribute the insurer's products through its 400 branches in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

The Pru already earns more than a third of its sales and 44 per cent of its profit from Asia, and chief executive Tidjane Thiam said today's deal would "consolidate" its position there.

Thiam said it offered "significant new profitable growth opportunities" and would "substantially increase" the Pru's scale in south-east Asia.

It has a similar joint venture with Standard Chartered to market Pru's products in areas including Hong Kong, Japan, China and Taiwan. It also has tie ups with Citic Group in China and ICICI in India.