To provide “further context” to the questions raised, NTUC Enterprise gave examples in its Tuesday statement of how it protected the interests of Income Insurance policyholders over the years.
NTUC Enterprise said it issued a letter of responsibility for Income Insurance to the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2012, and converted its shares to irredeemable ones so that they could count towards Income Insurance’s capital adequacy ratio.
The majority shareholder also injected around S$630 million (US$469 million) into Income Insurance during economic downturns such as financial crises and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supporting corporatisation was also in line with the goal of providing flexibility to Income Insurance and strengthening its long-term competitiveness.
“NTUC Enterprise remained a majority shareholder of Income Insurance, cognisant that corporatisation would provide the company flexibility to consider strategic options that could support the long-term growth of Income Insurance,” the statement said.
While the circumstances in which Income Insurance was founded in 1970 are “vastly different” from the landscape today, NTUC Enterprise chairman Lim Boon Heng said the company remained committed to protecting families financially against key risks in life.
“This social objective remains unchanged,” he said.
Social enterprises and co-operatives are no longer unique in doing good – more businesses are embracing stakeholder capitalism in their corporate purposes, said Mr Lim.
“Going forward, NTUC Enterprise intends for Income Insurance to continue to be an important financially profitable and socially responsible business, in line with its enduring purpose of empowering financial well-being for all,” he said.
Income Insurance needed not just a financial investor, but an experienced global player who can help it thrive, NTUC Enterprise said.
The combination of Income Insurance’s strengths and Allianz’s global capabilities can create a “highly competitive composite insurer”, the statement reiterated.
“These capabilities and expertise have convinced NTUC Enterprise to cede a 51 (per cent) stake to Allianz.”