Aviva Asia Pacific Chief Executive Simon Machell has revealed plans to expand into new Asian markets over the next few years.
Machell said he wanted to also grow further in the nine Asian markets where it already operates.
Machell said Dow Jones newswire: “If you look at the big markets (in Asia), we are there. There’ll probably be one or two (additional markets) to complete our portfolio. The challenge is to grow the existing business we’ve got rather than have lots and lots of new market entries.”
Machell said markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan and Japan are attractive but declined to say where and where the company would enter next.
In India, Aviva owns 26% of a joint venture with consumer goods company Dabur Group. In China, it owns 50% of a venture with state-owned China National Cereals, Oils & Foodstuffs Import & Export Corp. or Cofco.
Machell said growth prospects in Asia are strong. “The demographics in the market are there. The population is becoming more wealthy and people are starting to think about savings and protection products for the first time.”
Machell said the chances of entering Indonesia over the next three years are “reasonably high.”
He said: “That’s something which is under active review at the moment. It’s a matter of finding the right opportunity and finding the right distribution partners as well. There are a number of countries where we’re actively looking.”
