Prudential’s Eastspring Investments to initially acquire 65% of leading asset management company in Thailand TMB Asset Management

LONDON, 27-Jul-2018 — /EuropaWire/ — Eastspring Investments (“Eastspring”), the Asian asset management business of Prudential plc (“Prudential”), has reached an agreement to initially acquire 65 per cent of TMB Asset Management Co., Ltd. (“TMBAM”), a leading asset management company in Thailand, from TMB Bank Public Company Limited (“TMB”). Eastspring has an option to increase its ownership to 100 per cent in the future. As part of this acquisition, Eastspring has also entered into a distribution agreement with TMB to provide best-in-class investment solutions to their customers.

The acquisition of TMBAM, the fifth-largest asset manager¹ in Thailand, with £10 billion² of assets under management which has grown by a market leading 26 per cent compound annual growth rate over the last three years, reinforces Prudential’s commitment to the Thai market. It also complements Prudential’s fast growing life insurance business and provides Eastspring with a unique opportunity to establish a significant third party presence in the largest and fastest growing mutual fund market in the ASEAN region³. The completion of the transaction is subject to local regulatory approval.

By partnering with TMB, Thailand’s seventh largest bank⁴ by assets, with an extensive footprint of over 400 branches and six million customers, Eastspring will further enhance TMBAM’s strong track record of asset growth. These foundations provide an excellent position from which to capitalise on the attractive growth opportunities in Thailand’s mutual fund market arising from an expanding middle class, rising affluence, strong savings culture and a mutual fund penetration rate well below that in more developed markets.

Prudential has operated in Thailand for more than 20 years through Prudential Life Assurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited. At 31 December 2017, Prudential served over 1.5 million customers in Thailand and managed more than THB 90 billion of assets on their behalf.

Eastspring is Asia’s leading retail asset manager with £139 billion of assets under management and has been operating in Asia for almost 25 years. This acquisition expands Eastspring’s presence to 11 markets in Asia.

Nic Nicandrou, Chief Executive of Prudential Corporation Asia, said: “Asia is the growth engine of Prudential and the acceleration of our asset management business is a key strategic priority. This acquisition further enhances Prudential’s position in Thailand and demonstrates our commitment to meeting the fast-growing savings and investment needs of our clients in the region. Through its on-the-ground presence, Eastspring will also be able to enhance its investment support to our high-quality life insurance business.”

Guy Strapp, Chief Executive of Eastspring Investments, said: “This transaction enables us to further strengthen our unrivalled footprint in Asia. Eastspring has a long history of building successful partnerships and is ideally positioned to complement TMB’s strong local market position and distribution capabilities. We see substantial growth opportunities in Thailand and this transaction offers the potential to mutually develop a broad range of ‘best-in-class’ investment solutions for the rapidly expanding Thai mutual fund market.”

Khun Piti Tantakasem, Chief Executive Officer of TMB, said: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with Prudential, an internationally renowned business. Prudential has a well-established presence in Thailand and we believe that, through this partnership with Eastspring, we will be able to better serve the needs of TMB’s customers. Eastspring is an ideal partner to meet the growing investment needs of our customers by developing and offering local, regional and global investment solutions through its highly rated product offerings.”

¹Source: TMB Investor factsheet (as of March 2018)
²Assets under management as at 31 March 2018
³Source: Cerulli Asset Management in Southeast Asia 2017 Report, data as of Dec 2016
⁴Source: TMB Investor factsheet (as of March 2018)

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Notes to Editors:
Exchange rates of GBP 1 = THB 43.7399, which is the closing exchange rate as of 30 June 2018, have been used throughout this document.

About Eastspring Investments
Eastspring Investments is the Asian asset management business of Prudential plc, and manages investments on behalf of retail and institutional investors. It is one of the region’s largest asset managers, with a presence in 10 major Asian markets as well as distribution offices in the US and Europe. It has £139 billion in assets under management (as at 31 December 2017) and provides investment solutions across a broad range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions, infrastructure and alternatives. Eastspring Investments is a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a voluntary programme which encourages best practice in environmental, social and corporate governance issues.

About Prudential plc
Prudential plc and its affiliated companies constitute one of the world’s leading financial services groups, serving around 26 million insurance customers, with £669 billion of assets under management (as at 31 December 2017). Prudential plc is incorporated in England and Wales and is listed on the stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. Prudential plc is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc., a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America.

About TMB Asset Management Co., Ltd.
TMB Asset Management Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of TMB Bank Public Company Limited, a market-leading bank in Thailand with over 400 branches and 6.4 million retail customers (as at 31 March 2018). It has THB 422 billion (equivalent to £10 billion) in assets under management (as at 31 March 2018) across a broad range of asset classes.

Forward-Looking Statements
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SOURCE: Prudential plc.