[SINGAPORE] The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday (Jun 23) that it has rejected former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Suee Chieh’s request to meet chairman Gan Kim Yong or a senior MAS representative over the proposed transaction by German insurer Allianz to buy a controlling stake in NTUC Income.
This was in response to Tan’s letter to MAS on Jun 9, seeking a response to his Apr 28 open letter, as well as to request for such a meeting.
Responding to Tan’s three open letters between August 2024 and April 2025 on the Allianz-Income matter, MAS highlighted that the proposed transaction and amendments to the Insurance Act had been extensively debated in Parliament.
“Nevertheless, if Mr Tan has further feedback or information to share with us, we will duly consider them,” said the authority in a statement released a day ahead of Income’s annual general meeting.
MAS also said that it had shared Allianz’ capital reduction plan with the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth (MCCY) after having received the insurer’s preliminary business plan for Income in mid-July 2024. This was while the proposed transaction was still subject to regulatory approval.
“After the Aug 6, 2024, Parliament sitting, while MAS did not have prudential grounds for concern about the transaction, we noted that the planned capital reduction could be relevant to MCCY’s considerations, taking into account Income’s prior status as a co-operative society,” said MAS, adding that it was then that MAS surfaced this to the MAS board and shared it with MCCY.
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“Before then, MAS had not been aware of the representations that Income had made to MCCY when it was allowed to carry over S$2 billion in surplus to the new corporatised entity,” it noted.
After MAS shared the information with MCCY, the government moved to amend the Insurance Act and stop the transaction.
MAS noted that MCCY found it “difficult to reconcile the proposed substantial capital reduction, soon after the transaction is completed, with Income’s representations to MCCY during the corporatisation exercise that it was aiming to build up capital resources and enhance its financial strength”. It further noted that MCCY was also “not satisfied that Income will be able to continue fulfilling its social mission after the proposed transaction”.
Parliament passed the Insurance (Amendment) Bill under a Certificate of Urgency on Oct 16, 2024. On Dec 16, Allianz withdrew its pre-conditional voluntary general offer.
