Hanwha General Insurance has taken a controlling stake in Indonesia’s PT Lippo General Insurance Tbk, giving the South Korean non-life insurer a larger operating presence in Southeast Asia as the wider Hanwha group increases its international activities in insurance and financial services.

Hanwha General increases stake in Lippo General

Hanwha General has made Lippo General a consolidated subsidiary after acquiring shares previously held by an affiliated Hanwha entity in Indonesia. The insurer now owns 61.5% of Lippo General, following the purchase of a 46.6% stake from Hanwha Life Indonesia. According to Korea Herald’s report, the latest deal builds on a 2023 transaction in which Hanwha General and Hanwha Life jointly acquired a financial subsidiary of Indonesia’s Lippo Group. Under the new agreement, Hanwha General bought about 1.4 billion Lippo General common shares for 82.3 billion won (around US$57 million), bringing its total holdings to roughly 1.85 billion shares.

Lippo General operates as a multiline general insurer in Indonesia’s non-life market. For the first half of this year, the company reported operating revenue of 157.2 billion won, an increase of 5.5% from the same period a year earlier. In October, AM Best assigned Lippo General a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent), providing an external view of its capital and operating profile.

Hanwha General has said it intends to use its majority stake to expand Lippo General’s business in commercial and specialty lines. The company has highlighted marine and property insurance as areas of focus. It also plans to explore cooperation with PT Bank Nationalnobu Tbk (Nobu Bank), a local lender in which Hanwha Life is an investor, including potential bancassurance arrangements and joint offerings for Indonesian corporate and retail customers.

“This acquisition is intended to overcome growth limitations in the saturated domestic market and diversify our profit portfolio. We will apply our digital financial technologies and risk management expertise to ensure stable growth in the global market,” a Hanwha General Insurance official said, as reported by Korea Herald. For insurance professionals in Asia, the move is part of a broader pattern of Korean insurers entering ASEAN markets to diversify earnings and expand distribution outside their home base.

Hanwha Life adds US capability through Velocity Clearing

Alongside the Indonesian transaction, Hanwha Life has completed the acquisition of a 75% interest in Velocity Clearing LLC, a New York-based securities and financial services provider. The deal, which closed on July 30, involved the purchase of shares previously held by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management LP.

The acquisition makes Hanwha Life the first Korean insurer to own a US securities firm. The transaction gives the group direct access to US capital markets infrastructure and clients, and provides an additional channel for developing and distributing financial products. Hanwha Life has described the deal as a way to diversify its business portfolio and adjust its earnings mix by operating directly in the US financial sector. “This transaction represents a significant step for Korean finance to establish a presence in the key financial centre, the US capital markets. Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen our global business by leveraging digital financial technologies and our global network to ensure sustainable, long-term growth,” a Hanwha Life spokesperson said.

Earnings backdrop and contribution from insurance units

The overseas deals come as Hanwha Corp has reported higher consolidated results for the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), with both financial and non-financial businesses contributing. Group sales for the quarter reached 17.8 trillion won, up 46% from the same period in 2024. Operating profit rose to 1.34 trillion won, an increase of 156% year on year, while net profit increased to 1.03 trillion won from 189 billion won a year earlier. Non-financial results were supported by defence export activity at Hanwha Aerospace and increased commercial ship sales at Hanwha Ocean. On the financial side, the group said results continued to expand, driven by protection annual premium equivalent (APE) growth at Hanwha Life, Hanwha General Insurance, and their subsidiaries.

Within insurance, Hanwha Life has focused on improving insurance profit through stable amortization gains and closer management of experience variance, while seeking to lift investment income by emphasising interest- and dividend-bearing assets. Hanwha General and its overseas operations, including Lippo General, are expected to contribute through underwriting performance and changes in product mix.