Asia holds big promise for Allianz, says CEO

FRANKFURT: Allianz SE, the German insurer that stemmed outflows at the United States asset manager Pacific Investment Management Co (Pimco), is now trying to bulk up on the other side of the world.

“Asia is still a relatively small part of the overall global portfolio but it holds a very big promise,” said George Sartorel, chief executive officer of the Asia-Pacific business. “We have kept quiet in Asia for a long time, but our goal is to accelerate growth in the region. It’s a growth engine for Allianz.”

While it has managed to turn around Pimco, Allianz has lost ground in recent years to other European insurers in Asia Pacific, where a growing middle-class is driving demand for insurance. The region generates only about four per cent of its premiums.

Prudential Plc draws about 36 per cent from Asia and Parisbased Axa SA about 10 per cent.

Allianz joined with Standard Chartered Plc earlier this year to sell general insurance in the region. In China, the firm is awaiting a licence to sell online insurance in partnership with Baidu Inc and asset manager Hillhouse Capital Management.

“While we got positive signals from the regulator, I think we need to be patient,” Sartorel said. “If we pull that off, that is something transformational for us in China, giving us access to 800 million potential customers.” Bloomberg