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Report: Great Eastern in talks to sell minority stake in Malaysia insurance unit

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Report: Great Eastern in talks to sell minority stake in Malaysia insurance unit

Singapore-based Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. is holding exclusive talks with Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund to sell a minority stake in unit Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd., in a deal that could fetch as much as US$1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 5, citing "people familiar with the discussions."

The talks are part of Great Eastern's strategy to meet a June deadline imposed by Bank Negara Malaysia, requiring insurers operating in the country to be at least partially owned by locals.

Negotiations between the two parties are in early stages, with no certainty of a transaction, the sources said. If no agreement is reached, Great Eastern could look to list its insurance unit, with the pension fund having the option to participate in the IPO, the sources added.

Great Eastern declined to comment, while Employees Provident Fund did not immediately reply to a request for comment, the publication said.

In September 2017, Great Eastern said it was assessing possible options for a minority shareholding in Great Eastern Life. A month later, Bloomberg News cited sources as saying that Employees Provident Fund sought approval from the central bank to initiate negotiations with foreign-owned insurers in Malaysia.

Great Eastern is a unit of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd.