Insurance sector invests P6B in 1st seven months

The insurance industry invested P6 billion in various programs of the government in the first seven months of the year.

Of the total amount, P3.6 billion were in peso-denominated investments while $47 million (or roughly P2.4 billion) were in dollar-denominated investments.

The Insurance Commission (IC) said these investments represent five to 10 percent of the total investments of the entire insurance industry, which includes the life, non-life and professional reinsurers.

In 1999, the industry invested a total of P124.29 billion, with the life insurance sector accounting for almost 80 percent of the total investments of the industry.

The single biggest investment was undertaken by the National Reinsurance Corp. of the Philippines (National Re) amounting to P760 million for short-term commercial papers and government securities under a repurchase agreement in May this year.

Industry leader Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. Inc. (Philamlife) acquired P500-million worth of fixed rate corporate notes issued by Globe Telecommunications in February.

Other investment instruments were: short-term debt instruments and government securities; short-term commercial papers; Philippine global bonds; equity investments in private corporations; commercial loans; high-yield reserve asset facilities; BSP floating rate notes; fixed rate promisorry notes; and, fixed and floating rate corporate notes.

Last year, the industry made socio-economic investments worth P14.84 billion with P7.999 billion in peso-denominated instruments and $134.157 million (approximately P6.842 billion).

Single biggest dollar-denominated investment was undertaken by the Malayan Zurich Insurance Company Inc. for Citibank’s Peso Enhanced Dollar Obligation (PEDRO) investment product worth $50 million.