ING Direct 2007 Annual Report Download - page 20

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Insurance Asia/Pacific 6%
Rest 94%
Hans van der
Noordaa
Profit and loss account (underlying)
in EUR million 2007 2006 change
Premium income 12,632 12,136 4.1%
Operating expenses 1,115 965 15.5%
Underlying profit before tax 576 621 –7.2%
Total profit before tax* 576 636 –9.4%
* Total profit before tax is defined as profit before tax including
divestments and special items.
Underlying profit before tax from
Insurance Asia/Pacific decreased
by 7.2% to EUR 576 million.
A decrease in profits in Japan was partly
offset by higher profits in South Korea and
Australia. Excluding Japan, underlying profit
before tax was up 18.7%. The value of new
business (VNB) went up by 5% to EUR 442
million, driven mainly by higher sales in
Taiwan and Australia. Investments in the
high-growth markets of China, India and
Thailand continued.
ING is the region’s second-largest
international life insurer, based on annual
premium equivalent, with 12 operations in
10 markets. We have leading positions in
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong,
Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan, and are
well-positioned in the high-growth markets
of India, China and Thailand. We are also a
leading investment manager in the region,
operating in 13 markets.
Six strategic priorities
Our strategic priorities remain geared
towards strengthening distribution channels,
focusing on profitable new products,
expanding organisational capabilities,
increasing operational efficiency, enhancing
brand awareness and achieving scale in
asset management operations.
In Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Taiwan
and South Korea, ING has a strong tied
agency force. South Korea sets the standard,
closely followed by Taiwan, with a model
based on selective recruiting, excellent
training and support, and continual
performance monitoring of financial
advisers. We strengthened our tied-agency
forces in Thailand, China and India,
where an accelerated growth plan led
to significant increases in branches
and agents.
People are living longer and
becoming wealthier, especially
in the fast-growth economies of
Asia. This means they must take
more responsibility for planning
for their retirement, and have
better financial means to do so.
This offers ING significant
growth opportunities.
We’re accelerating product
development to cater to the
emerging investment-oriented
demands of our customers and
strengthening distribution via
our tied agents and banks. We
are transforming our agency
force into financial consultants.
We’ve also concluded several
important bank distribution
agreements, for example in
Malaysia and Thailand, and
put time and effort into
strengthening
existing bank
partnerships.
Underlying profit before tax
in percentages
Geographical breakdown
of premium income
in EUR million
18 Our performance
Insurance
Asia/Pacific
ING Group Annual Review 2007