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Great Eastern Q2 earnings jump multi-fold

SINGAPORE — Life insurer Great Eastern Holdings said today (July 31) its second-quarter earnings net profit jumped multi-folds to S$244.6 million dollars from S$18.6 million dollars in the same period a year ago, due mainly to significantly higher unrealised mark-to-market gains from more favourable financial market conditions.

SINGAPORE — Life insurer Great Eastern Holdings said today (July 31) its second-quarter earnings net profit jumped multi-folds to S$244.6 million dollars from S$18.6 million dollars in the same period a year ago, due mainly to significantly higher unrealised mark-to-market gains from more favourable financial market conditions.

This led to a turnaround in non-operating profit at S$72.2 million dollars, compared with losses of S$155.6 million a year ago.

Operating profit, however, fell 8 per cent to S$142.9 million dollars. Great Eastern said total weighted new sales for the quarter fell 16 per cent on-year to S$219.9 million compared to a year ago, as agency sales in Singapore last year had benefited from the recapture of a high volume of maturing participating policies.

“The landscape is getting more and more competitive, there’s no doubt about that; we are dealing with it by being more innovative and working through the existing programmes which we have already put in place,” said Great Eastern chairman Norman Ip.

With the Monetary Authority of Singapore planning to require all insurance companies to offer the direct purchase of certain life insurance products, Great Eastern has said it is training its agents, and providing them with new technology, to better engage their customers.

“We also train them in terms of ethics, to make sure they carry out their business in the best possible way for the best interests of customers,” said Mr Khoo Kah Siang, Great Eastern CEO (Singapore). “We have also recently introduced a digital financial planning tool to help our agents carry out financial planning with our customers. (They) will be able to use mobile devices to discuss about financial planning to customers or prospects in a less formal setting.” CHANNEL NEWSASIA

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