Sun Life keen on infra investments in PH

Global insurance giant Sun Life of Canada is looking for investment opportunities in infrastructure while it intends to grow existing businesses in the Philippines.

The 12 members of the board of Toronto-based Sun Life Financial Inc. are currently in the country for their annual off-site meeting.

“We are having our annual planning meeting for the first time outside of North America here in Manila. The Philippines is our strongest business in Asia…so we thought it’s important to bring our board here to experience the culture and the people,” Kevin Strain, president of Sun Life Financial Asia, said in a briefing Thursday.

Strain said the Philippine market had been a role model both in terms of topline or sales and bottomline or earnings. “This is an important business that can help set the tone for the region,” he said.

For the second straight year, Sun Life claimed the top spot in the local insurance industry based on premium income in 2012. It also led the industry in new business, with P3.2 billion in weighted first year premiums posted in 2012, up 36 percent from year-ago level.

Asked whether Sun Life was considering new asset classes, Strain said the group was looking at opportunities in Philippine infrastructure that could match the long-term duration of its liabilities. Doris C. Dumlao