Britain’s Aviva may exit Sri Lanka, South Korea: report

May 24, 2012 (LBO) – British insurer Aviva plc, plans to sell-off its Sri Lankan and South Korean businesses, as part of a broader retreat from sub-scale Asian markets, a report said Thursday, valuing the deal at around 150 million dollars. Aviva, Britain's second-biggest insurer, announced plans last week to sell underperforming businesses globally, a strategy aimed in part at raising money to protect against its euro zone exposure, which is bigger than that of its rivals, Reuters news wire reported.

Aviva did not specify the countries it would exit in its announcement last week.

The report said Aviva's South Korean investment in 2008 and its stake in the Sri Lankan company give it a combined value of about 66 million dollars, and some estimate the deal would be worth about 150 million dollars.

The company’s Sri Lankan unit, Aviva NDB Insurance, is under pressure from local regulators to spin-off its life and non-life business, the report said citing sources.

Citing sources, Reuters said that AIA Group Limited, Prudential plc and Manulife Financial Corp would be the most likely bidders for Aviva's stake in the Sri Lankan joint venture.

Aviva NDB Insurance generated 12.8 billion rupees (99 million dollars) in revenu