"FTLife will be a great addition to the New World family. This transaction is a significant step towards our goal of building an immersive ecosystem of premium quality offerings to our customers and community," said Adrian Cheng, executive vice-chairman and General Manager of New World Development.
The sale price is higher than the figure of between $2 and $2.5 billion placed on a potential sale last month by three people with knowledge of the matter. Hong Kong is home to a well developed life insurance market, with a life and health insurance premium to GDP ratio of 17.94 percent in 2017, the second-highest in Asia after Taiwan, according to insurer Swiss Re.
JD Group acquired FTLife for HK$10.7 billion ($1.4 billion) in 2016 from Belgian insurer Ageas NV, underscoring Chinese companies' strong appetite to grow through acquisitions in the Hong Kong financial sector. FTLife was the 12th-largest individual life insurer in Hong Kong by annualised premium equivalent, with a 1.4 percent market share at the end of 2017, according to a September Fitch ratings report on the company. The insurer has more than 2,800 financial consultants and staff, according to its website.