Kuala Lumpur, May 4 – Avicennia Capital Sdn Bhd (‘Avicennia Capital’) and Sun Life Malaysia have announced the appointment of new Chief Executive Officers at their respective companies.
Avicennia Capital has appointed Ooi Say Teng as CEO, while Sun Life Malaysia Assurance Berhad (‘Sun Life Malaysia’) has appointed Raymond Lew Yung Chow as CEO & President. Mr. Lew will also take on the role of Country Head, overseeing the insurance businesses of Sun Life in Malaysia.
Ooi joins Avicennia Capital from Sun Life Malaysia where he was previously the CEO, while Lew takes on the CEO position at Sun Life Malaysia where he was previously the Deputy CEO. Both appointments are effective immediately from 1 May 2017.
Avicennia Capital has a strategic investment in Sun Life Malaysia and Sun Life Malaysia Takaful via a 49% stake in these companies, acquired in April 2013. Avicennia’s investment strategy targets leading insurance companies that have reached, or are reaching, critical mass and show sustainable growth trajectories with potential investment returns.
Avicennia Capital currently has ambitions to build a solid market presence in Malaysia, and is active in searching for opportunities in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere. This journey has already begun with the investments in Sun Life Malaysia and Acıbadem Sağlık Ve Hayat Sigorta A.Ş., one of Turkey’s top-ranked health insurance services companies, and will be further expanded across the region going forward.
This will help the company reach its goal of contributing significantly to Malaysia’s economic strength in the global arena through investments in leading and sustainable insurance companies. Within this, Avicennia will continue to look to create partnerships with insurance companies for the purpose of generating returns for its investors, shareholders and all stakeholders.
Since 2013, Sun Life Malaysia has rolled out more than 47 new products, increased revenue to more than RM1 billion and placed more than 1.5 million policies into force. Moving forward, Sun Life Malaysia is aiming to maintain its position as a leading bancassurance player, and concurrently seek to climb into a top 5 insurance industry position in Malaysia through new products and services and a focus on new distribution areas such as Telco-Assurance and Agency through the leveraging of digital, data analytics and talent.