Allianz enters Philippines

Allianz enters Philippines

SINGAPORE (Reuter): German insurance giant Allianz AG said yesterday it had signed a joint venture deal to set up a life insurance unit in the Philippines.

Allianz said in a statement it had signed the deal with Philippine Pioneer Life Assurance Corp.

No details were disclosed about the scale of the investment Allianz was making in the venture, nor the percentage stake in the company, to be called Pioneer Allianz Life Assurance Corp.

Philippine insurance law stipulates that 40 percent is the maximum holding a foreign firm can have in a domestic insurer.

The move brings Allianz into a little-tapped market of about 66 million people and an annual life premium volume of US$900 million.

Analysts predict premium growth in the Philippines life branch to be about nine percent up to the year 2000.

Allianz has been strengthening its position in Asia and is active in Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, China and South Korea.