The insurer is targeting Indonesia and the Middle East in the shift towards artificial intelligence and blockchain finance
Hanwha Life Insurance Company is betting on blockchain as a key pillar of its next growth phase as it seeks to evolve from a traditional insurance company into a global financial group, according to global business president Kim Dong-wook.
Rather than treating blockchain as a speculative technology play, the insurer sees it as a financial infrastructure capable of reshaping cost structures across the industry. “Hanwha Life envisions a future for finance where blockchain technology securely protects customers’ assets and enables transactions with greater convenience,” Kim said in an email interview with The Korea Herald.
“Ultimately, future financing means reducing costs across the financial system and returning those benefits to customers,” he added.
Indonesia has emerged as a key market for translating this vision into practice. Southeast Asia’s largest digital economy achieved a financial inclusion rate of about 75% in 2024, according to official data, leaving nearly a quarter of its adult population unbanked or unbanked.
Hanwha Life this year took control of local Nobu Bank, becoming the first Korean insurer to take control of a foreign bank. Through its subsidiary Hanwha General Insurance, the group also controls Lippo General Insurance, expanding its presence across Indonesia’s financial sector.
Kim said the company aims to combine insurance and banking services in Indonesia to reach new customer segments while reducing barriers to accessing financial services. With a population of about 280 million and the government aims to raise the level of financial inclusion to 98% by 2045, the country is providing scope and policy alignment.
“If blockchain technology is applied to simplify procedures and reduce financial costs in Indonesia, the country may become a new case study in financial innovation in Asia,” Kim said, adding that Hanwha Life is discussing with Nobu Bank the long-term application of blockchain technology within the scope of local banking regulations.
The insurer’s focus on blockchain-related financial infrastructure extends beyond Southeast Asia. Hanwha Life joined Hanwha’s financial subsidiaries as an exclusive major partner at Abu Dhabi Financial Week, which ran from December 8 to 11, marking one of the group’s most notable appearances at a major financial forum in the Middle East.
“Our participation in ADFW represents a first step in demonstrating Hanwha Life’s ambition to establish itself as a comprehensive global financial group outside of Korea,” Kim said, describing the forum as “the perfect place” to shape the group’s future financial strategy.
The executive pointed out that Hanwha Life in the Middle East prioritizes positioning at the expense of immediate expansion in the retail sector. The company views the UAE as a meeting point for capital, technology and regulatory experimentation, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, blockchain and financial technology.
“The UAE has built world-class institutional and technological foundations in artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and financial technology, and is among the fastest-developing markets where traditional and digital finance are converging,” Kim said. “Future financial ecosystems require openness and collaboration, and we look forward to developing new global financial models together.”
Instead of pursuing acquisitions, the group is seeking to establish partnerships in the region, drawing on its experience working with Indonesia’s Lippo Group. “Hanwha Life said it looks forward to working with local financial institutions and blockchain companies operating under the open regulatory environment in the UAE,” Kim said.
Outside of Indonesia and the Middle East, the insurer continues to expand its presence abroad while moving away from the single-line insurance model. Hanwha Life operates in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and the United States, and this year completed the acquisition of US securities firm Velocity Clearing, becoming the first Korean insurer to enter the US securities business.
Those deals marked a shift toward a multi-platform financial model. In Southeast Asia, the group is working to expand access to financial services for individuals in high-growth markets, while in the United States it is working to strengthen its links to global capital markets and build investment capabilities and talent.
“We aim to build a financial ecosystem that links insurance with banking and investment functions, based on local strategies,” Kim said. “Our goal is to secure sustainable growth based on customer trust and emerge as a global financial group that leads AI and blockchain-based finance.”
By Choi Ji-won ([email protected])
