Axa-Uap Aims To Be Asias Top Insurer

An expansion plan will make French insurance giant Axa-UAP the biggest insurer in Asia by the turn of the century, the company's top regional executive told Reuters on Tuesday.

"By the beginning of the next millennium, Axa will be the number one company in Asia -- or pretty close to it -- for both life and non-life. This is our ambition and we aim to achieve it," said Patrick Dutrey, the Asia-Pacific senior regional vice-president for Axa in Singapore.

New start-ups, joint ventures and acquisitions would all be considered in the company's expansion programme.

"Does that make us aggressive? Not from the point of view where it implies cutting down rates and getting market share at all costs. We will not develop at the cost to shareholders of the return on equity," Dutrey said.

 

The group reported a 39.5 per cent jump in 1996 net profit to 2.73 billion francs last Wednesday.

The result included the first full-year contribution from National Mutual, the Australian unit acquired in 1995 that provides the bulk of Axa-UAP's 17.0 billion francs in Asian premiums.

Last Tuesday it was revealed that a partnership including National Mutual/Axa, caled Krungthi Axa Life, had landed one of 12 new licences to run a life insurance company in Thailand. But Dutrey sees business conditions in Thailand as tough.

"The Thai insurance market today does not have enough business for all the players to achieve a critical mass," he said. Experienced players would have the best chance of carving out a role, he added.

"I think with our experience in Asia and with Axa's financial and technical backing, I think we have a good chance of achieving our aims," he said.

Dutrey pins much of his hopes for Axa-UAP in Asia on getting new licences, particularly in China and India.

"We are hoping that by the end of this year we will have a life licence in China, but that, of course, depends on the government. India also could very well turn out to be a substantial market for us," he said.

Dutrey said he was disappointed that Indian government restrictions meant foreign firms could gain access to the Indian market only through joint ventures in health insurance.

But he said it had not stopped the company's search for a partner with which to enter the market.

"We're not just looking for a health partner, but a partner full stop. I am hoping by the middle of this year that Axa will have come to an agreement about a partnership in India, but the earliest we could probably hope to be in would be by the next budget in 1998," he said.