SINGAPORE: Former NTUC Income CEO and NTUC Enterprise Group CEO Tan Suee Chieh is being hailed as a “patriot” who is “fighting the good fight” online, after he stuck to his guns in calling out the proposed majority stake buyout of Income Insurance by German conglomerate Allianz.
Allianz is seeking to acquire a 51% stake in Income Insurance for approximately $1.6 billion – a plan that has raised concerns from a sizeable group of Singaporeans, including Mr Tan. The ex-CEO called the transaction a “breach of good faith” in an interview with CNA last month.
He added, “This was what I had hoped would not happen. I did not expect the sale of majority shareholding to a very commercial European insurer to happen. My concern about the fair treatment of minority shareholders when the corporatisation happened remains.”
On Friday (2 Aug), Mr Tan posted an open letter on Facebook addressed to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chairman, Gan Kim Yong, urging regulatory intervention and criticizing various aspects of the deal.
That letter drew a sharp response from Income and NTUC Enterprise, who released a formal rebuttal and accused Mr Tan of casting “unfair aspersions” relating to the proposed Allianz-Income deal. Mr Tan, however, has refused to back down.
Asserting that similar insurance groups “did not have to go regional or international to prosper, nor do they have to be acquired by a listed company,” to prosper while delivering social good, Mr Tan doubled down and sent a second open letter to Mr Gan Kim Yong, calling on the central bank once again to carefully scrutinise the proposed sale of NTUC Income to Allianz in the interest of Singaporeans.
Rebutting the points NTUC Enterprise and Income made in their joint statement, Mr Tan invited both organisations to “produce all the relevant board minutes and papers” covering certain discussions referenced in his first open letter to let MAS and the public “judge the matter for themselves.”
He stressed: “If this sale goes through, NE as minority shareholder will have no power to ensure that Allianz, a for-profit corporation, will subordinate its own profit-making objectives to further NTUC’s social mission. The NTUC Joint Statement has not shown that Allianz has given a legally binding commitment to make NTUC’s social mission paramount over its own profits.”
Mr Tan’s take was backed by a number of Singaporeans, including veteran diplomat Tommy Koh who called on the Singapore Parliament to “do the right thing” when it comes to this matter. He added, “INCOME is the people’s insurance company. It should not be sold and certainly not to a foreign company. It is part of our social compact.”
Meanwhile, ordinary Singaporeans on social media are showering praise upon Mr Tan for daring to speak up against the labour movement-linked organisations.
Sharing his rebuttal, some young Singaporeans online said he “cooked” – an Internet slang term that is used when one performs well against their opponent. Others called him “ballsy,” and applauded him with bravos.
Some Singaporeans said they are heartened to see good men “fighting the good fight” and being unafraid to stand up to powerful firms when they see things that don’t look right. Many thanked Mr Tan for speaking up while some appreciated the clear way he put his points across.
Reddit user Hannorx said, “…can we take a moment how good TSC’s writing is? I know nothing about mergers & acquisitions, but his writing is clear and intended for the masses to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. Whereas, NTUC Joint Statement seems convoluted and very legalese.”
In one top comment, Redditor InterTree391 added, “Regardless the ending, thank u for pushing this through publicly.”
Close to 500 netizens liked one comment by Reddit user GlobalSettleLayer, who said: “Tan Suee Chieh. Remember the name! Now that’s a patriot fit for National Day.”
TISG/