Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) might consider raising fresh capital to boost the financial strength of its life insurance arm, the company told an online investors’ conference in Taipei on Thursday.
Eyeing an annual NT$30 billion (US$1.08 billion) contractual service margin, Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) aims to maintain a risk-based capital ratio greater than 200 percent, and the insurer would therefore need fresh funds to expand its assets and scale up its business, Shin Kong Financial spokesman Stan Lee (李超儒) said.
“We do not see an urgent need to inject capital immediately, but we might do so later this year,” said Lee, who is a senior vice president at the life insurance arm. “The amount of fresh capital would be less than NT$10 billion.”
Photo courtesy of Shin Kong Financial Holding Co
Shin Kong Financial might raise fresh capital every year in the coming years, he said, adding that the firm aims to raise NT$10 billion each year.
After issuing preferred shares last year, it would from now on prioritize issuing common shares, he said.
Separately, Shin Kong Life on Thursday reported a 46.4 percent drop in its first-year premiums to NT$11 billion in the first quarter of this year due to a high comparison base last year.
Sales of traditional insurance policies halved year-on-year to NT$8.8 billion last quarter, while sales of policies denominated in foreign currencies totaled NT$8.5 billion, it said.
The life insurer expects that its first-year premiums for the whole of this year would drop 20 percent from last year’s NT$72.39 billion, as it has adjusted its strategy to focus on products with more protection, it said.
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