Overseas ops to grow in double digits, say Kurnia
Kurnia Asia, the country's largest general insurer, said its overseas operations in Indonesia and Thailand will contribute 20% to 25% to the group's top-line in the next three to five years. "We expect the overseas units to grow at strong double digits in the medium term," Kurnia Asia director of corporate planning and investor relations, James Tee, told reporters after the group's AGM in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. To meet its goals, plans include expanding the group's distribution channels via bank tie-ups as well as beefing up its agency force. (BT)
Comment: Based on the latest quarterly results, overseas operations in Indonesia and Thailand contributed around 4.8% to the group’s topline. Although Indonesia and its associate in Thailand incurred a net loss of
RM1.07m and RM0.15m respectively, we expect Kurnia’s overseas operations in Indonesia and Thailand to turn positive in the next few years through expansion of its distribution channels via bank tie-ups and beefing up of its agency force. PT Kurnia Insurance Indonesia was acquired in 2007 while Kurnia Insurance (Thailand) Co Ltd was acquired in December 2008. Maintain Buy with a target price of RM1.01. (Lim Mei Ching, Lim.meiching@osk.com.my)