(Corrects last name of chief executive to Connor from Cooper
throughout)
* CEO Dean Connor sees more opportunities in region
* Sun Life to take full control of Indonesia unit
* CEO sees opportunities from emerging middle class
By Matt Scuffham
TORONTO, March 23 (Reuters) - Sun Life Financial Inc
SLF.TO expects to make further acquisitions in Asia, the
Canadian insurer said, after agreeing on Wednesday to take full
control of its Indonesian business by buying out partner CIMB
Group CIMB.KL .
Sun Life said it would buy the remaining 51 percent of CIMB
Sun Life (CSL) to further expand its presence in a key Asian
growth market. Financial details of the transaction were not
disclosed.
In the last three years, Sun Life has made acquisitions in
Malaysia, India, Vietnam as well as Indonesia. Chief Executive
Dean Connor said it would consider more deals in the region as
well as investing to support organic growth.
"We've invested close to 1 billion Canadian dollars ($757
million) to broaden and strengthen our Asian platform and we
think there are lots more opportunities as we look ahead,"
Connor said in an interview.
Sun Life currently operates in seven Asian countries, which
also include the Philippines, China, India and Hong Kong. The
company hopes to take advantage of the region's burgeoning
middle class as they look to save and invest for the future.
"The demand for what we do in our industry is accelerating
in Asia. As the middle class grows people start to save and they
start to protect themselves and their families and save for
education," Connor said.
Connor said Sun Life had stayed out of Japan and South
Korea, markets it views as relatively mature, and is focusing on
what it sees as faster growth markets such as Indonesia.
In Indonesia, he said around 80 million of the country's 250
million population could now afford insurance and savings
products but only around 15 million had purchased them, leaving
a big opportunity for future sales.
As part of the Indonesia deal, Sun Life has extended a
distribution agreement with CIMB, which is one of Indonesia's
largest banks.
($1 = 1.3206 Canadian dollars)
(Editing by G Crosse, David Gregorio, Diane Craft)