Sanlam explores Africa, East Asia

Category: Investing Created on Friday, 07 September 2012 09:40 Published Date

Staff Reporter
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – SANALMA said it would continue exploring opportunities in Africa and Asia with the view of expanding its presence in those regions.

Sanlam Group Chief Executive, Dr Johan van Zyl, said while Sanlam would consider attractive expansion opportunities into African countries where the Group does not have a presence, its immediate focus is on strengthening business relationships in existing operations.

Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM) is actively working with its partners to identify appropriate opportunities in this regard.

South East Asia has also been identified as a potential growth market and SEM is currently investigating a number of opportunities in the region, van Zyl said.

He added that good progress has been made on the regulatory approvals required for the Group’s acquisition of a 26 percent interest in Shriram Capital in India.

“We are confident that the final conclusion of this transaction is imminent,” van Zyl said said.

Meanwhile, SEM achieved exemplary growth in the first half of 2012, increasing new business volumes by 40 percent and net result from financial services by 56 percent despite challenging economic conditions for the half year ended June 30.

The Group grew new business volumes by 11 percent to R61 billion and increased the net value of new covered business by 38 percent compared to the same period last year.