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London billionaire Michael Spencer boosts stake in Singapore Life to 63pc

  • Michael Spencer has boosted his stake in the firm to 63 per cent from 29 per cent through his private company IPGL
  • Spencer paid US$52.7 million to Chong Sing Holdings to acquire the additional 33.8 per cent stake
  • An eventual IPO is “certainly” part of the aspirations for Singapore Life, says Singapore Life CEO Walter de Oude

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British billionaire investor and former treasurer of Britain’s Conservative Party, Michael Spencer. Photo: Bloomberg

Singapore Life said the increased investment this week from British billionaire Michael Spencer, who boost his stake in the firm to 63 per cent from 29 per cent, is a precursor to potentially more new investors.

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Singapore Life chief executive Walter de Oude told the Post that he will continue to channel investment into new technology to tap opportunities in internet-basesd services that increasingly straddle across insurance, asset management and banking.

In January Singapore Life bought S$6 billion (US$4.38 billion) worth of life coverage from Zurich Life Singapore and has since grown total coverage to S$6.6 billion, de Oude said.

Hong Kong-listed Chong Sing Holdings Fintech said in an exchange filing on Thursday that it has sold its 33.8 per cent stake in Singapore Life to IPGL, controlled by Spencer, for about US$52.7 million, valuing the start-up at US$156 million. The sale is expected to generate a gain of about US$37 million to Chong Sing Holdings.

“The disposal represents a strategic opportunity to optimise the group’s business portfolio while realising substantial value from the transaction,” the company said in the filing. Chong Sing Holdings, an online lending and payment operator which has recently also applied for a virtual banking licence in Hong Kong, said it would use the proceeds for general working capital.

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De Oude said that the increased investment from IPGL is likely to also bring “new investor partners to the shareholder consortium” and a stronger capital base going forward.

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