Exclusive | How FWD married two of Richard Li’s ‘loves’ to create Hong Kong’s only home-grown, pan-Asian insurer
- ‘I have two loves, the internet and e-commerce and life insurance, but they have never met,’ FWD CEO Huynh Thanh Phong recalls Richard Li Tzar-kai as saying
- Strategy of leveraging the latest technology to continue to shape FWD’s trajectory, as firm targets becoming the top-ranked foreign player in Asean countries in the coming decades, CEO says
A serendipitous meeting more than 10 years ago between a telecoms titan and a former Vietnamese refugee at Hong Kong’s exclusive Causeway Bay yacht club sowed the seeds for an insurance company that today covers against risks in seven countries along the ancient Silk Road.
On Monday, FWD marks its 10th anniversary, and Huynh can vividly recall his pivotal conversation with Li, their meeting serving as a catalyst for the founding of the only home-grown Hong Kong-based pan-Asian insurer.
The purpose of the meeting was to talk about an investment Huynh had made in Vietnam years earlier, Huynh recounted in a recent interview with the Post. The discussion, however, turned to the establishment of a pan-Asian insurance company.
Recognising the prevalence of national champions, they identified a gap in the market – the absence of a successful pan-regional insurer. “We looked at each other and came to the conclusion that it was the right time to [set up such a firm],” Huynh said.
Li confided in Huynh about his two passions at the meeting. “I have two loves, the internet and e-commerce and life insurance, but they have never met,” Huynh cited Li as saying.
FWD to buy majority stake in Malaysian life insurer ahead of Hong Kong IPO
To combine Li’s twin passions, they resolved to create a company that would harness the latest technology. Hong Kong, with its established regulatory environment and wealth of talent, especially in risk management, was picked as FWD’s core market and headquarters.
“Leverage the latest technology and simplify everything we do for our customers – I think, that was the playbook,” he said.
Hong Kong insurer FWD to drop New York IPO for hometown bourse
This strategy has been FWD’s guiding principle for the past decade and will continue to shape its future trajectory, as the company aims to become the top-ranked foreign player in Asean countries in the coming decades, Huynh said.
“We want to build a company that is simple and straightforward,” he added. “When you make a claim, the company just makes it really easy,” Huynh said, expressing his dislike of the litany of questions other insurers usually ask during their claims process.
Using technology, FWD has achieved a streamlined claims process that requires just a couple of clicks in most regional markets, according to Huynh. “In Hong Kong, you can even receive payments at a 7-Eleven,” he added.
FWD has expanded to 10 markets across Asia, including seven countries: Cambodia, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. It has more than 10 million customers with total premiums worth US$6.3 billion.
“FWD is 10 years young, and we have only just begun,” Huynh said. On Monday, he announced a charitable initiative for local communities in these 10 markets as part of the insurer’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
FWD holds a unique position as a home-grown Hong Kong-headquartered insurance firm, said Fred Ma Si-hang, FWD’s chairman.
“Lee stayed in the office for one-and-a-half hours, [longer than the] original plan of 45 minutes, showing his interest in the company,” said Ma, who together with Li, greeted the leader during his visit.
The insurer is firmly convinced that digitalisation is the key to capturing markets in Asia-Pacific that are estimated to be worth US$2 trillion. The region is home to 60 per cent of the world’s youth population, or 750 million people aged 15 to 24 years old.
“In the next 10 years, we will deepen our presence in all of these markets across Asia, and that would make us a top-three insurance company [in Asia] sooner rather than later,” Huynh said, highlighting that the business relies on organic growth, rather than mergers and acquisitions (M&As).
Fred Ma, former minister and FWD director, appointed chairman of insurer
“If you look back, we started pretty much from scratch 10 years ago. We bought ING as a starting point. But if you look across Southeast Asia, most of the operations we built out are either completely new, or we bought something very small.
“Some of the M&A is really about how to get into a new partnership around the region.”
As far as China is concerned, Huynh said the mainland has always been a part of FWD’s pan-Asia plan, but the process takes time.
“Life insurance is well regulated,” he said. “You have to demonstrate your commitment and show a track record and then apply for a licence. In some countries it’s quick and in other countries it takes longer.”
While Hong Kong can be an important base to draw mainland Chinese customers coming from southern China, Huynh said the city’s market itself has a lot of potential.
“When Richard and I talked about how we would build FWD, we knew we needed a home base that was very well established and especially well regulated,” he said. “That is really important. And of course, a place where we can get the right talent.
“When it comes to risk management and actuarial talent, as well as finance and accounting, it’s very hard to beat Hong Kong.”
Huynh’s ties with the city go back to 1979, when he arrived in Hong Kong aged 13 as a refugee of the Vietnam war.
“Hong Kong is very special for me,” he said, recalling his four or five month stay in the city with fondness. “On Christmas Eve, people would come to the camp gates and sing Christmas carols.
“Hong Kong people touched my heart.”
