KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 16): RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK) said on Friday it has applied to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for more time to conclude negotiations with Tokio Marine Asia Pte Ltd on the proposed merger of their insurance business in the country.
In a bourse filing, RHB said the two sides have made meaningful progress in the talks, including ongoing due diligence reviews and discussions on key commercial terms and transaction documentation.
The extension request follows BNM’s approval in May for RHB to make a second attempt at negotiations with Tokio Marine Asia for the merger of their respective subsidiaries, Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd and RHB Insurance Bhd, to form an enlarged entity.
Under the proposal, RHB will dispose of up to 100% of its interest in RHB Insurance to Tokio Marine Asia. It will end up holding up to 35% in the merged company.
Talks on a similar disposal and merger were first announced in July 2019 after receiving BNM’s green light, but were called off in December that year after both parties failed to agree on the terms and conditions for the disposal.
In August 2025, RHB signed 20-year exclusive partnerships with Tokio Marine Life for bancassurance and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd (KL:TAKAFUL) for bancatakaful, through which RHB will exclusively market and distribute their life, family takaful and general takaful products across its network in Malaysia.
The partnerships secure up to RM1.6 billion in access fees for RHB, providing the bank a predictable source of fee income for the next 20 years. This follows the expiry of the previous 10-year agreement in December 2024.
RHB shares closed four sen or 0.55% higher at RM7.32, valuing the company at RM32 billion. The counter is up 8.44% over the past one year.