Bowtie raises US$22.6 million from Mitsui-led investors, tapping Japanese firm’s financial muscles and strategic advice for growth

Bowtie Life Insurance, Hong Kong’s first virtual insurer, said it raised US$22.6 million in its second funding round from a group of investors led by Mitsui & Co., getting both the financial backing and strategic advice of one of Japan’s largest conglomerates to steer its growth.

Mitsui invested in Bowtie’s Series B fundraising with the insurer Sun Life, which was also a Series A investor. In its first fundraising round in 2018, Bowtie raised HK$234 million (US$30 million) from Sun Life and the HK X-Technology fund, a vehicle backed by Sequoia Capital and chaired by Tencent Holding’s founder Pony Ma Huateng.

“Mitsui’s investment is not just about adding fresh capital for our development in Hong Kong; the new shareholder will appoint a person to join Bowtie’s board to help develop our health care and insurance solutions,” said Bowtie’s co-founder and co-chief executive Michael Chan Kwan-yu in an interview with South China Morning Post. The two investors will help Bowtie expand into the Greater Bay Area and other Asian markets, Chan said.

Bowtie was established in December 2018 by local insurance experts, with the former Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah as its adviser. It sells insurance policies online for medical, critical illness and life, offering US$3.8 billion of coverage for 45,000 customers as of September.