South African tycoon Adrian Gore’s Discovery partners with AIA to set up pan-Asian health insurance technology business

Discovery Limited, a South African financial services group run by leading businessman Adrian Gore, has partnered with AIA Group, a Hong Kong-based international insurance and finance corporation, to establish a pan-Asian health insurance technology business.

The launch of the pan-Asian company builds on Discovery and AIA Group’s nearly 10-year working partnership, which has so far concentrated on the integration of AIA’s life insurance products with AIA Vitality through AIA’s companies in Asia.

According to a press statement from the South African-based group, the new organization, Amplify Health, is set to launch in April 2022 with the aim of becoming Asia’s leading digital health technology and integrated solutions business.

The new firm will be operated as part of Discovery’s existing agreement with the Lee Yuan Siong-led AIA Group under a JV structure.

The agreement, which is subject to South African Reserve Bank clearance, will see Discovery own a significant 25-percent of the JV’s stock, while AIA will control a majority 75-percent interest in the business.

The success of Discovery and AIA’s current partnership will strengthen the JV agreement between the two companies. It will leverage AIA’s footprint in the Asian market and Discovery’s current insurance business, which will continue alongside Amplify Health’s operations.

Gore, CEO of Discovery, commented on the strategic agreement, saying: “Discovery and AIA have an exceptionally successful long-term relationship through AIA Vitality, and our organizations have completely aligned core purposes, and this will create a powerful platform to Amplify Health.”

As of press time on Feb. 17, Discovery shares were trading at R165.87 ($11.1), 35 basis points lower than their opening price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange this morning.

Discovery’s market capitalization is R113 billion ($7.5 billion) at the current share price, while Gore’s 7.4-percent ownership interest in the company is worth R8.2 billion ($546.7 million).