ING’s Taiwan insurance arm eyes foreign stocks
The Taiwan insurance arm of Dutch financial services firm ING Groep is mulling its first investments in international stocks as it eyes higher returns while it rides out turbulence in Taiwan’s stock market.
ING, behind AIG as the biggest foreign life insurer in Asia, is also eying opportunities in hedge funds, private equity, and commodities over the next few years as it seeks to boost returns while managing risk.
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 Tuesday.
“One thing you could say is that (Taiwan’s market) is very heavily concentrated in electronics,” Yang said. “The U.S. has Microsofts and Apples, it’s got brands, it’s closer to the clients, but this technology here is one step removed … so it is much more volatile.”
“Taiwan, I think, for a while to come will be a much more volatile market than other places,” he added. Taiwan’s stock market hit a 16-month closing low on Tuesday, beaten down by worries about slow economic growth, higher inflation, and slowing exports as U.S. economic woes eat into spending and erode consumer confidence.
Tags: inflation, Insurance, insurer, investment