FOREIGN DEBT:The financial conglomerate expects its life insurance subsidiary to book interest income of NT$2 billion from its expanding foreign bond holdings

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 18, 2016
By: Ted Chen / Staff reporter

Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) yesterday said it expects earnings to improve beginning this quarter, as it increases its foreign bond holdings ahead of an anticipated interest rate hike cycle in the US.

The expanding foreign bond holdings should drive up the interest income of its main unit, Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽), by NT$2 billion (US$62.8 million), Shin Kong Financial chief financial officer Hsu Shun-yun (徐順鋆) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.

“We plan to increase our holdings of US dollar-denominated emerging market bonds by US$1.1 billion, bringing our total international bonds portfolio from NT$317.4 billion at the end of the third quarter to NT$350 billion,” Hsu said.

Hsu added that in the last quarter, the life insurer had increased its holdings of Saudi Arabian government bonds, while reducing its Chinese corporate debt and dim sum bond holdings.    [FULL  STORY]