Japan: Mitsui Sumitomo looks beyond domestic borders for investment yields
Source: Asia Insurance Review | May 2015
Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance has announced plans to invest more than JPY40 billion (US$337 million) in overseas bonds and stocks, while continuing to pare down its exposure to the domestic stock market, news agency Reuters reported.
Ten-year Japanese Government Bonds, which have been hovering in the 0.3% range for some time, still account for the majority of the insurer’s investment portfolio. The large-scale bond-buying programme rolled out by the Abe administration in a bid to stimulate the economy and spur inflation has only contributed to increase that trend, forcing the company to increase its investment allocation to foreign assets in search of greater yields.
It was also reported that the insurer invested a little more than JPY40 billion in foreign assets and bonds as well during the last fiscal year (ending March). Together with plans to shore up its overseas investments, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance also plans to cut holdings of domestic stocks in line with a four-year plan to reduce such stocks exposure by JPY300 billion, the report said.