• 
• 

Published on February 6, 2008

Prudential (Thailand) CEO Ted Ridgway said the company's annualised premium earnings last year reached Bt1.1 billion despite the country's political and economic problems.

The company continues to draw on its direct-marketing strength, which accounts for 85 per cent of total sales. However, Ridgway believes new marketing initiatives will see sales from direct marketing fall to half of total sales in only two or three months.

"We need to rebuild our face-to-face channels," Ridgway said.

Although the company has no plans for a large-scale increase in its agency force, the main focus of Prudential (Thailand) will be on boosting its four regional centres in Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen, Surat Thani and Bangkok. At present, agency sales account for only 4 per cent of the total, with the remaining 11 per cent coming from bancassurance.

With direct sales down to 50 per cent, Ridgway wants to see 25 per cent of sales generated by each of the other two sources.

"But if you look at figures from the Thai Life Assurance Association, agency growth is flat," said Ridgway, who would rather continue to focus on direct marketing.

Last year's initiative to reach prospects in upcountry markets generated a lead-conversion rate of about 3 per cent from more than 100,000 people who signed up for the company's lucky draw, which offered a car as its grand prize.

Mark Manolas, senior vice president for direct marketing at Prudential (Thailand), wants to see a 50-per-cent increase in sales leads to 164,000 in this year's campaign. The prizes have been revised, replacing the car with a motorcycle and including plenty of gold necklaces.

Prudential's local efforts in emerging markets helped the group's annualised premium earnings grow 44 per cent last fiscal year to £1.3 billion (Bt84.2 billion). Its business in India grew 68 per cent, while the number of agents there doubled. Sales in the UK have been stagnant but helped by steady income from the retirement market. Prudential's annualised premium earnings from group insurance reached £2.8 billion last year.

Analysts have mixed feelings about the growth of the insurer, which is listed on both the London and New York stock exchanges.

British broker Collins Stewart told Citywire last month that despite the growth, Prudential's Asian businesses contributed only one-fifth of the cash remitted to the group. Goldman Sachs fears the company's growth in Asia will contract should regional economies be hit by a US recession.

Group CEO Mark Tucker also told Citywire he was uncertain of the extent to which people would want to save, given the current economic outlook.

Ki Nan Tsui

The Nation