Aviva to dispose of stake in Woori Aviva Life Insurance

14th Apr 2014 08:51

Insurance giant Aviva has agreed to sell its entire 47 per cent stake in its South Korean business Woori Aviva Life Insurance (WALI) to NongHyup Financial Group (NHFG), it announced on Monday. WALI, which is majority owned by Woori Financial Holdings, has also agreed to sell its stake to NHFG as part of the transaction. FTSE 100 Aviva said the sale was part of its strategy to focus on markets "where it has scale or a sustainable competitive advantage to maximise return on capital". The transaction will have a neutral impact on the group's net assets (by international financial reporting standards) and will increase economic capital surplus by £0.2bn, recognising the reduced exposure to interest rate and credit risk, it explained. The sale, which still needs regulatory approval, of WALI is part of a broader privatisation of Woori by the government of South Korea. Khor Hock Seng, Chief Executive of Aviva Asia, said: "Aviva has a strong presence in China and South East Asia, which are key future cash generators for the group. This deal provides further focus to our Asian businesses, which increased value of new business by 65% in 2013."Aviva's share price had fallen 0.78% to 495.30p by 09:05 on Monday. NR