Japan’s largest non-life carrier acquires stake in the Indonesian life insurance market.

The underwriter Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (part of MS&AD Insurance Group) has acquired a 50% stake in the life insurance subsidiary of Indonesian group Sinar Mas, and the joint venture will henceforth be known as Asuransi Jiwa Sinarmas MSIG (or Sinarmas MSIG Life). Mitsui Sumitomo’s investment was motivated by the fact that Indonesia’s market is likely to expand rapidly as more middle-class households start buying insurance, and also because the country is seen as a promising market for takaful (Islamic) insurance.