The Taiwan life insurance arm of Dutch financial services firm ING Groep is mulling its first investments in international stocks as it aims at higher returns while riding out turbulence in Taiwan’s stock market.
ING, behind AIG as the biggest foreign life insurer in Asia, is also eyeing opportunities in hedge funds, private equity, and commodities over the next few years as it seeks to boost returns while managing risk to meet its liabilities.
Finance Investment At the same time, it will keep half of its investments in the conservative government bond market, Andy Yang, chief investment officer of the investment unit of Taiwan’s ING Life Insurance Co, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
ING’s Taiwan insurance arm currently allocates around seven percent of its portfolio to Taiwanese stocks, with 50 percent in government bonds, and 1.4 percent in real estate.
A move to stocks outside Taiwan would mark the first time the firm — celebrating its 20th Taiwan anniversary this year — had included such assets in its portfolio.
In February, chief executive John Wylie of ING Life in Taiwan, told Reuters it would increase its investments in Taiwan’s property market and was targeting nearly 13 percent growth to T$33.3 billion ($1.1 billion) in its first-year insurance premiums in Taiwan in 2008. It invested T$7.8 billion (US$242 million) last year to buy two real estate projects in Taiwan, according to local media.
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