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Pan-Asian insurance firm FWD has laid off employees in Singapore, sources told Tech in Asia. An industry source who declined to be named said the job cuts affected a “small number of roles,” with the figure close to 10 people.
FWD declined to comment.
After a first attempt to list in the US in 2021, FWD has delayed plans for a Hong Kong IPO twice, with the most recent postponement taking place in September 2023. An IPO might have netted the company US$1 billion, a more modest aim compared to its initial US target of US$3 billion, though it has also raised over US$1.8 billion in private placements between 2021 to 2022.
Last month, The Business Times reported that FWD was mulling options following the delayed IPO, including a stake sale that would value the company at US$10 billion.
However, FWD’s parent firm Pacific Century Group – the investment company owned by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li – has since downplayed the report, saying that he was “confident” about the insurer’s long-term development.
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Editing by Dhania Putri Sarahtika
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