(Bloomberg) -- Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, and France’s Axa SA were among first-round bidders for the rights to distribute general insurance products through Standard Chartered Plc outlets in Asia, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

A unit of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc., the $18 billion Japanese group, also submitted an offer for exclusive access to the U.K. lender’s regional banking network, the people said. Standard Chartered is seeking about $400 million in a deal it aims to complete by year-end, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. The so-called bancassurance agreement would grant distribution rights for 15 years, they said.

Demand for insurance rises in Asia

Banks in Asia have been negotiating similar partnerships as demand for insurance products rises among the region’s increasingly wealthy population. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. agreed in June to distribute Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc. non-life products in Southeast Asia, while Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is buying 80 percent of PT Paninvest’s non-life unit in an agreement that also includes a distribution component.

Standard Chartered is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to select partners for this agreement, people with knowledge of the matter said in June. The lender entered a new 15-year agreement with Prudential Plc in 2014 to distribute its life insurance products in Asia.