Monetary Authority of Singapore Chairman Gan Kim Yong
Caproasia.com | The leading source of data, research, information & resource for financial professionals, investment managers, professional investors, family offices & advisors to institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs. Covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. How do you invest $3 million to $300 million? How do you manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets? Caproasia - Learn more



2025 Summits in Hong Kong & Singapore
Investment / Alternatives Summit - March / Oct / Nov
Investment Day - March / July / Sept / Oct / Nov
Private Wealth Summit - April / Oct / Nov
Family Office Summit - April / Oct / Nov
View Events | Register


This site is for accredited investors, professional investors, investment managers and financial professionals only. You should have assets around $3 million to $300 million or managing $20 million to $30 billion.










Singapore MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong on Knowledge of S$43 Million Capital Reduction and Investigation in Role & Advisory Competency of Financial Advisor Morgan Stanley in Income-Allianz Transaction: Income to Decide on Quality of Advice

13th November 2024 | Hong Kong

Singapore Deputy Prime Minister & Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Chairman Gan Kim Yong reply to Singapore Parliamentary question (12/11/24) on knowledge of S$43 million capital reduction and investigation in role & advisory competency of financial advisor Morgan Stanley in Income-Allianz transaction: Income to decide on quality of advice.  Gan Kim Yong (12/11/24): “I am glad Mr Leong used the term ‘capital reduction’ instead of ‘asset stripping’ in his two questions.  Minister Chee Hong Tat and Mr Leong had an exchange on this matter at the last Sitting in October, where Minister Chee explained why ‘capital reduction’ was a more appropriate term than ‘asset stripping’.  The term ‘asset stripping’ suggests that the company’s business is being dismantled, which is not the case here.  But the more important point is that Mr Leong agrees with the Government that it would not be acceptable for Income to proceed with the deal in its current form, including the planned $1.85 billion capital extraction over 3 years.  That was why the Government tabled an urgent Bill at the last Sitting for Parliament’s approval to amend the Insurance Act, which all Members of the House supported except the MPs from Workers’ Party who abstained …. ….”  See below for full reply:

“ Singapore MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong on Knowledge of S$43 Million Capital Reduction and Investigation in Role & Advisory Competency of Financial Advisor Morgan Stanley in Income-Allianz Transaction: Income to Decide on Quality of Advice “

 



- Article continues below -



Sign Up
Basic Member: $5 Monthly | $60 Yearly
Newsletter Daily 2 pm (Promo): $20 Monthly | $180 Yearly (FP: $680)


The 2025 Investment Day
Hong Kong | Singapore
March / July / Sept / Oct / Nov

Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Private Markets & more. Join 20+ CIOs & Senior investment team, with > 60% single family offices with $300 million AUM. Taking place in Hong Kong and in Singapore. Every March, July, Sept, Oct & Nov.
Visit | Register here


The 2025 Family Office Summit
10th April & 16th Oct Hong Kong St Regis | 17th April & 6th Nov Singapore Amara Sanctuary Resort

Join 80 single family offices & family office professionals in Hong Kong & Singapore
Links: 2025 Family Office Summit | Register here


2025 Investment / Alternatives Summit
March / Oct / Nov in Hong Kong & Singapore

Join leading asset managers, hedge funds, boutique funds, private equity, venture capital & real estate firms in Hong Kong, Singapore & Asia-Pacific at the Investment / Alternatives Summit. Join as delegate, speaker, presenter, partner & sponsor.
Visit | Register here


2025 Private Wealth Summit
April / Oct / Nov in Hong Kong & Singapore

Join CEOs, CIOs, Head of Private Banking, Head of Family Offices & Product Heads at The Private Wealth Summit.  Join as delegate, speaker, presenter, partner & sponsor.
Visit | Register here





 

Singapore MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong on Knowledge of S$43 Million Capital Reduction and Investigation in Role & Advisory Competency of Financial Advisor Morgan Stanley in Income-Allianz Transaction: Income to Decide on Quality of Advicen

Monetary Authority of Singapore Chairman Gan Kim Yong

 

Date: For Parliament Sitting on 12 November 2024 

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Leong Mun Wai, NCMP

Question:

To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether MAS will be investigating the role of Income Insurance Ltd’s financial adviser in the Income-Allianz transaction, particularly whether the adviser had provided competent independent advice on the capital reduction plan.

To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministry knew of Income Insurance Ltd’s one-off capital reduction exercise of approximately S$43 million in 2023; (b) whether this one-off capital reduction benefits the co-operative movement as a whole or can be reconciled with Income Insurance Ltd’s representations to the Ministry when it sought an exemption from section 88 of the Co-operative Societies Act as part of its corporatisation; and (c) if not, whether any action will be taken against Income Insurance Ltd.

Answer by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, and Chairman of MAS:

One-off capital reduction exercise

1.         I am glad Mr Leong used the term ‘capital reduction’ instead of ‘asset stripping’ in his two questions.  Minister Chee Hong Tat and Mr Leong had an exchange on this matter at the last Sitting in October, where Minister Chee explained why ‘capital reduction’ was a more appropriate term than ‘asset stripping’.  The term ‘asset stripping’ suggests that the company’s business is being dismantled, which is not the case here.  But the more important point is that Mr Leong agrees with the Government that it would not be acceptable for Income to proceed with the deal in its current form, including the planned $1.85 billion capital extraction over 3 years.  That was why the Government tabled an urgent Bill at the last Sitting for Parliament’s approval to amend the Insurance Act, which all Members of the House supported except the MPs from Workers’ Party who abstained.

2.         For the 5 years prior to corporatisation, NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Limited (“NTUC Income”) paid an average annual dividend of $62 million.  When NTUC Income underwent its corporatisation exercise in 2022, its entire business, assets and liabilities were transferred from the former NTUC Income to the new corporate entity Income Insurance Limited (“Income”).  As part of the transfer, NTUC Income’s retained earnings were all converted to share capital in the new corporate entity, Income.

3.         To continue providing an annual payout to shareholders for FY 2022, Income sought approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to reduce its share capital.  This was necessary because FY 2022 was a transition year where Income changed its legal form, and had all retained earnings in the co-operative converted to share capital in the new corporate entity.

4.         The payout to shareholders for FY 2022 was consistent with the ordinary course of business as NTUC Income had distributed dividends to its members in previous years prior to corporatisation. In fact, both the total quantum and amount per share in FY 2022 were lower than what NTUC Income had paid out in annual dividends in the prior five years.

5.         The proposed plan to extract $1.85 billion over three years is very different in both its nature and quantum, and is not comparable to regular annual dividends.  It also does not align with the representations that NTUC Income made to MCCY when it sought exemption from Section 88 of the Co-operative Societies Act, as explained by Minister Edwin Tong in his 14th October Ministerial Statement.

Role of Income’s financial adviser

6.         Mr Leong also asked about the role of Income’s financial adviser in providing independent advice.

7.         Income appointed Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. as its financial adviser to provide financial advice and assist it with structuring the proposed transaction and negotiating the transaction terms, based on a set of agreed terms of engagement.  It is for Income as the client to decide on the quality of its financial adviser’s advice.

8.         The role of a financial adviser engaged by the target company to negotiate and advise on a takeover transaction is different from the role of an independent financial adviser (IFA).  The IFA has to observe additional standards set by the Securities Industry Council.

9.         In the course of a voluntary general offer (VGO), an IFA must be appointed by the target company’s directors to independently evaluate whether the terms of the offer are fair and reasonable, and recommend to shareholders whether to accept or reject the offer.  The advice of the IFA will be set out in a take-over document to shareholders, which should disclose and consider all material information, including substantial capital reduction plans.  This due process ensures shareholders receive complete information and are provided independent advice prior to making their decision.

10.       In the case of Income, the appointment of an IFA, and the disclosures in the takeover document, have not arisen as the proposed Income-Allianz transaction is still at the pre-conditional VGO stage and has not progressed to a VGO. As explained during the Parliament Sittings in October, the Government has decided that the deal in its current form cannot proceed.




Managing $20 million to $3 billion. Investing $3 million to $300 million.
For Investment Managers, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Professional Investors, Family Offices, Private Bankers & Advisors, sign up today. Subscribe to Caproasia and receive the latest news, data, insights & reports, events & programs daily at 2 pm.

Join Events & Find Services
Join Investments, Private Wealth, Family Office events in Hong Kong, Singapore, Asia-wide. Find hard-to-find $3 million to $300 million financial & investment services at The Financial Centre | TFC. Find financial, investment, private wealth, family office, real estate, luxury investments, citizenship, law firms & more.  List hard-to-find financial & private wealth services.

Have a product launch? Promote a product or service? List your service at The Financial Centre | TFC. Join interviews & editorial and be featured on Caproasia.com or join Investments, Private Wealth, Family Office events. Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]

Caproasia.com | The leading source of data, research, information & resource for financial professionals, investment managers, professional investors, family offices & advisors to institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs. Covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. How do you invest $3 million to $300 million? How do you manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets?



Quick Links


2021 Data Release
2020 List of Private Banks in Hong Kong
2020 List of Private Banks in Singapore
2020 Top 10 Largest Family Office
2020 Top 10 Largest Multi-Family Offices
2020 Report: Hong Kong Private Banks & Asset Mgmt - $4.49 Trillion
2020 Report: Singapore Asset Mgmt - $3.48 Trillion AUM


For Investors | Professionals | Executives
Latest data, reports, insights, news, events & programs
Everyday at 2 pm
Direct to your inbox
Save 2 to 8 hours per week. Organised for success

Register Below

For CEOs, Heads, Senior Management, Market Heads, Desk Heads, Financial Professionals, Investment Managers, Asset Managers, Fund Managers, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Analysts, Advisors, Wealth Managers, Private Bankers, Family Offices, Investment Bankers, Private Equity, Institutional Investors, Professional Investors

Get Ahead in 60 Seconds. Join 10,000 +
Save 2 to 8 hours weekly. Organised for Success.

Sign Up / Register


    Investment ProfessionalAdvisorProfessional InvestorFinancial ProfessionalManagementOthers


    $20 million to $100 million AUM$100 million to $300 million AUM$300 million to $1 billion AUM$1 billion to $10 billion AUM$10 billion to $100 billion AUMMore than $100 billion AUM


    Mailing List / Free TrialMonthly SubscriptionYearly SubscriptionMembershipEvents


    2024 Investment Day Hong Kong 17th Oct2024 Investment Day Singapore 7th Nov2024 Family Office Summit Hong Kong 17th Oct2024 Family Office Summit Singapore 7th Nov2025 Events












    Web links may be disabled on mobile for security.
    Please click on desktop.










    Caproasia Users

    • Manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets
    • Invest $3 million to $300 million
    • Advise institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs

    Caproasia Platforms | 11,000 Investors & Advisors

    Monthly Roundtable & Networking

    Family Office Programs

    The 2024 Investment Day

    • March 2024 - Hong Kong
    • March 2024 - Singapore
    • July 2024 - Hong Kong
    • July 2024 - Singapore
    • Sept 2024 - Hong Kong
    • Sept 2024 - Singapore
    • Oct 2024 - Hong Kong
    • Nov 2024 - Singapore
    • Visit: The Investment Day | Register: Click here

    Caproasia Summits

    Contact Us

    For Enquiries, Membership
    [email protected], [email protected]

    For Listing, Subscription
    [email protected], [email protected]

    For Press Release, send to:
    [email protected]

    For Events & Webinars
    [email protected]

    For Media Kit, Advertising, Sponsorships, Partnerships
    [email protected]

    For Research, Data, Surveys, Reports
    [email protected]

    For General Enquiries
    [email protected]





    Caproasia | Driving the future of Asia
    a financial information technology co.
    since 2014