UK's Aviva teams up with Tencent, Hillhouse Capital to launch Hong Kong insurer

Jan 20 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva said it had joined up with investment management firm Hillhouse Capital and Chinese internet services giant Tencent Holdings to start a digital insurance focused company in Hong Kong. As part of the deal, Hillhouse and Tencent will acquire shares in Aviva Hong Kong, the insurer said on Friday. When the deal closes, Aviva and Hillhouse would each hold 40 percent of Aviva Hong Kong, while Tencent will own the rest, Aviva said. Aviva said earlier this week it will merge its UK life and general insurance businesses as it focuses on offering products online, as part of an organisational shake-up that also saw the departure of its European chief. Tencent, which is among the backers of Chinese internet insurer Zhong An Online Property and Casualty Insurance, has also invested in online insurer HeTai Life. China's online finance industry has boomed in recent years, with players ranging from Tencent to e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and start-ups offering peer-to-peer lending, wealth management and online payments in a bid to prise business away from traditional banks and insurers. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Carolyn Cohn)