Repost: Aetna says enters Thailand insurance market
Reuters Story - January 29, 1998 23:12
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HARTFORD, Conn., Jan 29 (Reuters) - Aetna International, a
unit of Aetna Inc. , said Thursday it agreed to form two
insurance joint ventures in Thailand with Osotspa Company Ltd.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Aetna said it will own 20 percent of the property-casualty
company, Osotspa Insurance Co. Ltd, and 25 percent Osotspa Life
Insurance Co.
Thailand caps foreign ownership of local firms at 25
percent.
Aetna, the biggest health insurer in the U.S., said it saw
solid growth potential in Thailand.
"This alliance with Osotspa presents an excellent
opportunity for Aetna to enter a new market in the Asia Pacific
region at a time valuations are modest," Aetna International
President Frederick Copeland, Jr., said.
He said that only a small fraction of Thailand's 60 million
people owned insurance.
"With the government's ongoing plan to liberalize the
insurance industry, we believe the demand for insurance
products will increase expotentially in the years ahead as the
economy stabilizes and begins to grow again," Copeland said.
Aetna has Asian operations in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Aetna shares dipped $0.25 to close at $75.1875 on the New
York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Osotspa Company Ltd, founded in 1891, is a Thai
conglomerate with holdings in manufacturing and distribution of
beverages, pharmaceuticals, and consumer and industrial
products.
((--Hartford newsroom, (860) 727-0224))
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