Malaysian pension giants 'eyeing stakes in foreign-owned insurers'

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S two biggest pension funds, which manage a combined US$203 billion, plan to pursue talks to buy stakes in foreign-owned insurers in the country as the government enforces caps on overseas ownership, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Employees Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), known as KWAP, have requested central bank approval to start deal negotiations with potential targets, according to the sources.