Asian insurers abandoning liability matching in the hunt for yield

Ultra-low rates forcing companies to shift focus from asset-liability matching

Low interest rates are forcing insurers in Asia to consider abandoning asset-liability matching, despite government efforts to increase the supply of long-dated instruments.

Duration matching has traditionally been a challenge for insurers in Asia because of the limited supply of long-duration government bonds, particularly those in Taiwan and South Korea.

But the low yield environment is putting further pressure on companies to reconsider the extent to which they attempt to duration match