Prudential buys in Asia, two years after failed AIA takeover bid Prudential will buy the life insurance business of Thailand's Thanachart Bank in a £368m cash deal that will take the battle to AIA. Both insurers are beefing up their presence in the region, which has been the backbone of Prudential's growth over the past few years. Prudential recently unveiled plans to open an office in Cambodia, while AIA, the former Asian unit of US insurance group AIG, last month won the £1bn auction for ING's Malaysian insurance unit. By buying Thanachart's operations, Prudential will double its market share in Thailand and close the gap on its rival. As part of the deal, Prudential will sign a 15-year partnership with Thanachart Bank for a bancassurance arrangement to ensure its insurance products are distributed through Thanachart's 630 branches to its 4m customers. Prudential will pay £358m in cash when the transaction is completed and a further £10m a year later. The deal still has to clear regulatory hurdles but is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. "This transaction builds on Prudential's strategy of focusing on the highly attractive markets of south-east Asia," the group said. Life insurance penetration in Thailand remains low at only 2.7pc, providing substantial long-term profitable growth opportunities. Prudential tried to capitalise on such opportunities by buying AIG's Asian business for £22bn in 2010 in a deal that would have nearly doubled its size and turned its focus almost exclusively on Asia. However, the insurer was forced to scrap the merger after a shareholder rebellion, which Tidjane Thiam, Prudential's chief executive, said at the weekend "went beyond anything I could imagine." Thailand is south-east Asia's second largest economy and forecast to grow 5.7pc this year.