CHAN HUA ENG AND SON, THYE SENG, ACQUIRED PACIFIC & ORIENT INSURANCE AND LISTED IT IN 1995

Father and son are both lawyers. In 1994 they acquired Pacific & Orient Insurance, one of the largest general insurance companies in Malaysia and listed it on Bursa Malaysia as Pacific & Orient Berhad (P&O). It has been in the Chan family control since then. Chan Hua Eng, 97, recently passed away on 15 April 1995. His son, Thye Seng holds a direct interest of 15.36%  in P&O and indirect interest of 45.17% via Mah Wing Holdings Sdn Bhd (22.49%) and Mah Wing Investments Limited (20.41%) as at 31 December 2024. Thye Seng is 68. Investors are wondering what is next in terms of succession for P&O. 

Chan Thye Seng graduated from University College Cardiff with a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree. He was called to the Bar at Middle Temple, London, in 1980 and the Malaysian Bar in 1982. He had 13 years of experience as a practising lawyer before teaming up with his father to venture into the insurance business. Thye Seng is MD/CEO of P&O but the CEO of the insurance arm, Pacific & Orient Insurance Co Bhd (POI) is  Alex Low Choon Hoong, 65 who was appointed to the post on 1 August 2024. Alex Low was former CEO/ED of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Sdn Bhd for 14 years before he was Chief Commercial Officer at MPI Generali Insurans Berhad before taking on his current  post. 

POI handles all classes of  general insurance in Malaysia. It is licensed under the  Financial Services Act 2013. Since its listing in 1995, P&O has diversified into additional businesses. The Group now operates in two main areas, namely Financial Services and Information Technology. The former focuses on general insurance and money lending and the latter on highly customised financial software/hardware solutions for the insurance industry and security and surveillance systems. 

The insurance industry has seen significant growth and there is a wide range of general insurance companies competing in the market. The landscape of general insurance is also being reshaped by digital transformation, the focus on ESG, insurtech startups are disrupting the traditional insurance industry and with the rise of cyber threats and data breaches, there is a growing demand for cyber insurance products in the marketplace. P&O is facing stiff competition. For FYE 31 December 2024 the total revenue for POI was RM286.5 million and pre-tax loss was RM12.4 million due to increase of claims. The IT division's revenue was RM37.4 million f but it reported a pre-tax loss of RM80.2 million primarily due to unrealised foreign exchange losses and impairment loss of the subsidiary in the USA. 

The late Chan Hua Eng (R OBE 1928-2025) graduated with a Bachelor of Law from University of Bristol and Barrister-at-Law of Middle Temple. He started his career in legal practice in 1954 in Shearn Delamore & Co and Drew & Napier where he remained until his retirement in January 1987 as the Senior Partner. He was formerly a Chairman of the Malayan Bar, a part time Judicial Commissioner and Chairman of the Sabah Inquiry Commission besides being on the Boards of a few listed companies. 

SOURCES

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