Kurnia Group
Kurnia Asia Berhad Appoints Underwriters For Main Board Listing
December 21st, 2004
Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday - Kurnia Asia Berhad (KAB) had appointed Commerce International
Merchant Bankers Berhad (CIMB) as the lead Underwriter for its floatation exercise
on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (BMSB), in an official
ceremony where the Underwriters' Agreement was signed today. CIMB was appointed
adviser, sole book-runner and managing underwriter while four other companies
were appointed as co-underwriters for the exercise. These companies were namely,
K&N Kenanga Berhad, PM Securities Sdn. Bhd., Affin Securities Sdn. Bhd. and
TA Securities Holdings Berhad. The Deputy Minister of Finance I, Y.B. Dato'
Dr. Ng Yen Yen, witnessed this signing ceremony.
Kurnia Asia Berhad, the holding company of Kurnia Insurans (M) Berhad, has
received approval from the Securities Commission, BMSB and other relevant authorities
for its initial public offering (IPO).
According to Yg. Bhg. Dato' Adrian Loh, Executive Director of Kurnia Asia
Berhad, "Kurnia is now poised to enter the next phase of growth in both motor
and non-motor businesses."
Kurnia Insurans (M) Berhad, a wholly owned entity of KAB, is the largest general
insurer in Malaysia and South East Asia with a turnover exceeding RM1billion
- the first and only general insurer to achieve this feat. Kurnia was upgraded
by MARC to an "A+" in March 2004. It has been accorded an "A" rating in general
insurance financial strength by MARC for the past 4 consecutive years.
"Kurnia began in 1991 with a gross premium revenue of RM 10 million. Kurnia
expanded and grew tremendously since its inception to its current size", said
Yg. Bhg. Dato' Adrian Loh. Today, Kurnia operates a 7,800-strong agency force
which is supported by 1,900 employees. It has 30 branches nationwide to render
quality services to 3 million policyholders.
"Kurnia is a MS ISO 9001:2000 International Quality Standard certified company
for the past 8 consecutive years", added Yg. Bhg. Dato' Adrian Loh. "The emphasis
on quality, coupled with prudent cost control measures, which meet Bank Negara
Malaysia's guidelines and benchmarks, has allowed Kurnia to realize operational
excellence." From 1999 to 2003, the company achieved Compounded Annual Growth
Rate (CAGR) of 19% earned premium growth while keeping its management expenses
ratio below the industry average. Yg. Bhg. Dato' Adrian Loh also attributed
the fine performance to a hands-on and experienced management team as well
as its innovative products and services such as Kurnia Auto Assist, a 24-hours
roadside assistance service and Kurnia Express, an immediate cash settlement
service for motor own-damage claims.
Kurnia provides the full range of general insurance products including motor,
fire, personal accident, marine, medical, engineering, workmen's compensation
and other miscellaneous classes of insurance. The company controls 13.4% of
the local general insurance market and 22.6% of the local motor insurance market.
KAB was represented by Yg. Bhg. Dato' S. K. Kua, Executive Chairman, while
the underwriters were represented by Yg. Bhg. Dato' Nazir Razak, Group Chief
Executive of CIMB; Ms. Alicia Tan, Deputy General Manager of PM Securities;
Mr. Andrew Wong Kok Leong, Head - Corporate Services of Affin Securities; Yg.
Bhg. Dato' Ramli Bin Ismail, Managing Director of K&N Kenanga, and Mr. Tah
Heong Beng, General Manager, Operations of TA Securities in the signing of
the Underwriting Agreement.