moving ahead...

229 Pages·2017·7.36 MB·English

M O V I N G
A H E A D . . .
GREAT EASTERN HOLDINGS LIMITED
A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 6
C
ANNUAL REPORT 2016
C O N T E N T S
Key Figures • 3 Business Review Financial Statements • 71
Letter to Shareholders • 10 • Singapore • 32 List of Major Properties • 209
Board of Directors • 16 • Malaysia • 36 Additional Information • 210
Key Executives • 24 • Emerging Markets • 39 Shareholding Statistics • 211
Financial Highlights • 28 Human Capital • 40 Further Information on Directors • 213
Embedded Value • 30 Corporate Social Responsibility • 42 Management Team • 218
Year in Review (Highlights) • 46 Group Network • 220
Awards & Accolades • 48 Notice of AGM and Proxy Form • 223
Corporate Governance Report • 49 Corporate Information • Inside Back Cover
As a LIFE company, Great Eastern goes beyond the call of insurance
and providing financial security. We believe in empowering those around
us to live healthier and better and in creating sustainable value for our
stakeholders.

The dynamic arrows symbolise our strong conviction to stay ahead of the
curve, constantly Moving Ahead in unison. The lattice design represents
the cohesive and close ties we forge with our stakeholders... as we grow
together with our customers, our people and the community to build a
better tomorrow.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016
W H O W E A R E
W E A R E A L I F E C O M PA N Y.
W H A T W E B E L I E V E I N
O U R C U S T O M E R S
A R E AT T H E H E A R T O F
A L L T H AT W E D O .
W H A T W E D O
I N S P I R I N G P E O P L E T O
L I V E G R E AT.
O U R M I S S I O N O U R V I S I O N O U R E T H O S
To make life great by To be the leading financial Great Eastern is always
providing financial security, service provider in acting in the best interests of
and promoting good health Asia, recognised for our our customers with
and meaningful relationships. excellence. Fair Dealing as the basis of
our business.
O U R C O R E V A L U E S
I N T E G R I T Y | I N I T I AT I V E | I N V O LV E M E N T
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GREAT EASTERN HOLDINGS LIMITED
K E Y F I G U R E S
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS FY2016
589 9,556 466
S$ S$ S$
MILLION MILLION MILLION
PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE GROSS PREMIUMS ECONOMIC VALUE OF ONE
TO SHAREHOLDERS YEAR’S NEW BUSINESS
71,123 504 6,589
S$ S$ S$
MILLION MILLION MILLION
TOTAL ASSETS OPERATING PROFIT AFTER TAX SHAREHOLDERS’ FUND
11,694 55 9,613
S$ S$
MILLION CENTS MILLION
EMBEDDED VALUE DISTRIBUTION PER SHARE1 MARKET CAPITALISATION2
1 Dividend paid during the year includes the interim one-tier tax exempt dividend of 10 cents per
ordinary share for the financial year ended 31 December 2016, a final one-tier tax exempt dividend of
40 cents per ordinary share and a special one-tier tax exempt dividend of 5 cents per ordinary share
for the financial year ended 31 December 2015.

2 This is calculated using Shares Outstanding of 473,319,069 shares and last traded price in FY2016
of S$20.31 (30 December 2016).
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016
TOGETHER WITH OUR CUSTOMERS

M O V I N G A H E A D TO
We are a LIFE company committed to helping our customers live
healthier and better. From providing meaningful financial solutions to
E N R I C H L I V E S
empowering and rewarding them to Live Great, we have made it our
purpose to help our customers live life to the fullest.
TOGETHER WITH OUR PEOPLE
M O V I N G A H E A D TO
At Great Eastern, we strive to bring out the best in our people.
We believe in nurturing an engaging environment to help our E M P O W E R G RO W T H
people grow with the company and realise their fullest potential.
TOGETHER WITH OUR COMMUNIT Y
M O V I N G A H E A D TO
We believe in making a positive difference in the communities we work
in and adding value to the lives around us. We strive to inspire others E N H A N C E VA LU E
to go the extra mile for the good and betterment of society.
L E T T E R T O S H A R E H O L D E R S
KOH BENG SENG KHOR HOCK SENG
Chairman Group Chief Executive Officer
“We are now in a stronger position to achieve
closer collaboration, greater synergy and
increased operational efficiency across our
markets which augur well for our business.”
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GREAT EASTERN HOLDINGS LIMITED
Dear Shareholders
In 2016, the world witnessed many unexpected macro
events which caused an air of uncertainty in global financial 589
S$
markets. At the same time, regulatory requirements have
tightened and insurers are facing higher expectations for
MILLION
capital, liquidity and compliance.

Against this challenging backdrop, the Group remained
focused on the disciplined execution of our strategy to
further grow our business in our core markets of Singapore
PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE
and Malaysia, while at the same time building our operations
TO SHAREHOLDERS
in Indonesia and our takaful business in Malaysia.
We further strengthened our risk management capabilities Another priority was to optimise asset-liability management
and adopted a prudent approach in expanding our business. and investment management. Towards this end, we have
In our dealings with our customers, we made every effort to strengthened the role of the Asset-Liability Committee and
ensure that we continue to treat them fairly as we believe taken steps to better align our risk, product and investment
that it is only when our customers do well that our Company strategies.
can prosper.
During the year, we also made significant strides in our
During the year, we sharpened our corporate strategy to digitalisation journey. Our investment in business-enabling
focus on five strategic thrusts. technologies has borne effective results.
Firstly, to strengthen our leadership in our core markets of One good example is our award-winning Project MegaTron
Singapore and Malaysia, we further optimised and expanded which has empowered our customers and distribution force
our bancassurance platform with OCBC Bank and ramped up and propelled our business growth. This was successfully
efforts to grow our agency force and enhance productivity. implemented in Singapore and will be rolled out in Malaysia
in 2017.
Secondly, efforts were intensified to grow our business
lines. We made good progress in rebuilding our Indonesia FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
business as a growth pillar and accelerated the expansion In 2016, the Group’s Total Weighted New Sales (TWNS) rose
of our takaful business. Measures were taken to reshape by 11% to S$1,069.9 million, driven by strong contributions
and strengthen the business models. Both these businesses from both agency and bancassurance channels. New
ended 2016 on a much stronger footing and are now firmly Business Embedded Value (NBEV), a measure of long-term
on a growth trajectory. economic profitability, recorded a strong 22% growth to
S$466.2 million.
We have initiated various plans to further expand our General
and Group Insurance business, including working with our The strong NBEV growth over 2015 was propelled by higher
bancassurance partner OCBC Bank to tap into the bank’s sales and NBEV margin. The Group’s NBEV margin rose to
corporate customer base. We can look forward to a stronger 43.6% in 2016 from 39.5% in 2015, reflecting the success
performance from these business lines in time to come. of our strategy to actively manage our product mix.
Thirdly, we took steps to better align the Group corporate The Group’s operating profit from insurance business for
structure. While we have made changes, we continue to the year decreased by 13%. The decline is attributed to
be guided by our core values. We are now in a stronger new business strain from higher sales growth and medical
position to achieve closer collaboration, greater synergy claims in the Singapore operations.
and increased operational efficiency across our markets
which augur well for our business.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016