SET-listed Thai Group Holdings (TGH), the insurance arm of the TCC Group controlled by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, has added two more business units -- consumer finance and health and wellness -- to vertically integrate services geared towards an ageing society.
The two business units, formerly separate subsidiaries, have been folded into TGH.
After the restructuring, the company will oversee three lines of businesses -- insurance, finance and health and wellness.
TGH's chief executive Thakorn Piyapan said Southeast Money, the company's subsidiary in the financial business area, will launch motorcycle and used car loans in the third quarter of this year, followed by vehicle registration pledge loans and personal loans in the fourth quarter.
TGH expects Southeast Money's new products will generate newly issued loans to the value of 2 billion baht this year.
Mr Thakorn said merger and acquisition (M&A) is a great strategy to bolster the fast-growing partnership network. In order to carry out the strategy, TGH has reportedly talked with some small and medium-sized consumer finance providers.
"Our direction in the financial business is not to be a banker but to be a financial provider under the concept of finance as a service," Mr Thakorn said.
Southeast Life Insurance, an insurance unit of TGH, plans to rebrand itself, launch new products, increase its sales channels, recruit more agencies and institutional partners to expand its network in bancassurance in addition to two existing bank partners and launch unit-linked insurance products.
Mr Thakorn said his target is to increase premiums received through agents to 40% of the total amount, up 10% from 30% at present within three years.
TGH's non-life insurance arms focus on different target groups. While Southeast Insurance is revamping its claims process as a key driver of profits, Thai Insurance will focus its efforts on the new generation of consumers.
According to Mr Thakorn, the non-life insurers will maintain their positions in car insurance while also increasing their roles in the health, property and casualty insurance.
"We will first keep our focus on domestic businesses during within these three years, and thereafter play a more active role overseas," said Mr Thakorn.
TGH is aiming to grow its total revenue by around 14-15% each year to 30 billion baht within the next three years with profit growth of about 20% per year.
Last year, the company reported total revenue of 23.3 billion baht, down from 24.2 billion in 2019, of which 10.1 billion (-10%) was from life insurance, 9.33 billion (-3%) from non-life insurance, 4.26 billion (+11%) from financial businesses, while 855 million (+135%) came from other areas.