AXA Asia Pacific Holdings (AXA APH) could still enter the non-life insurance market, according to Andrew Penn, managing director - group strategic development, AXA APH.
Penn told delegates at AXA's annual conference in Bordeaux, AXA: Ambition 2012, that the insurer had not discounted expanding beyond life insurance, wealth management, advice and asset management.
He said: "It is not something historically that we have been involved in. You need a seperate licence to operate both in life and non-life markets.
"Australia's non-life market was for a long period of time very, very unattractive, because one of the major players [HIH] was behaving foolishly and cutting the margins very, very thinly."
But Penn added: "It remains to be seen [whether AXA APH enters the non-life market], but there are lots of opportunities before that I suspect."
The managing director revealed at a seminar on the Asia Pacific arm of AXA that Tawain was also an "interesting opportunity" for the group, which has no presence in the region at the moment.
India was also targeted for future growth with the Indian government recently announcing its intention to raise the 26% foreign investment ceiling to 49%.
AXA APH currently has a joint venture partnership [a 25% share] with JV Bharti Enterprises in the country.
