Interview: Mr. Choi Joong-kyung, Minister of Knowledge Economy

Minister of knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung is a veteran finance official who has served in key finance posts in the government and Blue House. He passed the civil service exam in 1978, beginning his career as a finance official. He was appointed vice minister at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance when President Lee took office in February 2008 and pushed a weak won policy to boost the country’s exports during the recent financial crisis. He also held the post of President Lee’s senior secretary for economic affairs.
In an exclusive interview, he speaks about his priorities and plans for this year.

What are your main priorities for this year, and what is your proposed action plan?
Korea posted the world’s seventh-largest export volume in 2010 and overcame the global economic crisis. However, Korea is still responding to changes in the global economic environment, including the emergence of convergence and green industries. Korea also needs to address imbalances between large companies and small and midsize companies.
To ensure the sustainable growth of the Korean economy, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) will nurture industries with significant potential to generate growth and create quality jobs. At the same time, the Ministry will train skilled workers and improve working conditions—for example, with the Quality of Working Life Valley. This project will involve turning outdated industrial complexes into multipurpose facilities that not only serve as workplaces, but also as education centers and cultural spaces. In this way, the government will attract more young people to the fields that most need workers.
In addition, the Ministry will establish a stable supply base for energy and resources in response to international price fluctuations. We will pursue more FTAs to expand Korea’s access to advanced markets. Furthermore, by strengthening industrial cooperation with emerging economies, we will achieve $1 trillion in annual trade.
In the process of implementing these policies, the Ministry will communicate closely with businesses and help them resolve any difficulties they may be facing. We hope foreign investors, who have played such an important role in the Korean economy, will invest more in the future.
How is the Ministry implementing the green growth strategy?
Korea’s green growth policy has two aims: to preserve the natural environment and to help the nation achieve sustainable growth. As of 2007, Korea ranked 38th in the world in terms of GDP per capita, and the economy needs to maintain a steady path of growth.
Korea is a nation with immense growth potential, and the government intends to encourage sustainable economic and employment growth by strengthening its efforts to address climate change. We will do this by improving energy efficiency, advancing the clean energy industries, promoting industrial convergence, and pursuing greater innovation in R&D.
The Framework Act on Low-Carbon, Green Growth was enacted on April 14, 2010. The Act requires the adoption of specific targets for energy efficiency and GHG emissions for different business categories. It also mandates the adoption of a certification program to attract green investment. Both the certification system and the strategy to reach our energy efficiency and GHG emissions targets will be in place before the end of 2011.
Furthermore, the government is making a proactive effort to strengthen the institutional framework for renewable energy and energy conservation measures. By the end of the year we will develop a strategy to enter the overseas renewable energy market and gain a sufficient share of the global market to create an export industry. To prepare for the adoption of the Renewable Portfolio Standard in 2012, the Enforcement Decree of the Act will be revised and a detailed action plan will be in place by the end of June.
What steps are you taking to increase Korea’s self-sufficiency rate in oil and gas resources? Could you tell us about support to local renewable energy test projects?
Korea depends on imports for 96.2 percent of its energy needs (2009). According to the IEA, Korea is the world’s 10th major energy consumer and its No. 9 petroleum consumer (2007). Clearly, energy self-sufficiency is an important goal because fluctuations in international energy prices affect key economic indicators such as the current account balance.
In pursuit of this goal, Korea continually seeks to improve energy efficiency and expand the use of clean energy so that we can cut dependence on fossil fuel to no more than 60 percent. By reducing demand for energy in every category (industry, transport, household, commerce), we will improve energy efficiency by 2.6 percent every year until 2030. By that time, renewable energy will account for 11.5 percent of Korea’s total energy consumption and nuclear energy will account for 27.8 percent. Development of the green industries will transform Korea’s industrial structure into one that is less energy intensive.
The government said it will set aside 700 million won from MKE and an additional 700 million won from the Small and Medium Business Administration to support the Commission of Shared Growth for Large and Small Companies. What other steps are you taking to support SMEs?
Like most countries, Korea has a variety of support policies for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs). These include tax incentives, policy funding support, technology development support and a public procurement program.
The global financial crisis hit SMEs especially hard. Accordingly, the Korean government worked to overcome the financial crisis through pre-emptive measures such as massive injections of liquidity for SMEs (e.g., extending maturity dates for 160 trillion won worth of SME loans; 37 trillion won worth of additional loan guarantees; a higher guarantee rate of up to 100 percent).
Going forward, the government plans to revise its SME support policies to better reflect the needs of the self-employed, small traders and small enterprises and to ensure that SMEs develop and grow into stronger companies. At the same time, the government will adhere to the principles of “support and nurture” and “free competition” to encourage the phased development of promising SMEs into large companies.

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Interview: Mr. Robert Gilchrist, Founder & CEO, Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP

Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP, now in it’s 27th year, specialises in the acquisition and management of commercial property throughout the UK and continental Europe on behalf of over 220 major institutional clients from around the globe. On behalf of single-client accounts, investment is made either directly into property assets or, indirectly, through the group’s series of tax-efficient, co-mingled investment funds.
Originally established in 1984 as MIM Property Services, Rockspring was one of the first UK-based property managers to specialise in European investment. Working exclusively with institutional investors, the business grew quickly, and in 1993, was bought by Prudential Financial of the USA and became PRICOA Property Investment Management. Following an MBO in 2004, Rockspring Property Investment Managers, as it is known today, was formed. Fully independent and 100% owned by its Partners and employees, Rockspring is headquartered in London with its own network of local investment and asset management offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Madrid, Paris and Helsinki. In addition, Rockspring manages client support and services operations via dedicated offices in America and Australia and is in process of opening one Seoul.
Rockspring offers its clients a diverse range of products, from region-wide, pan-European funds to single country and sector specific specialist vehicles. These include the Rockspring Hanover Property Unit Trust, the Rockspring PanEuropean Property Limited Partnership, RockspringTransEuropean II, III, IV & V, The Industrial Trust, Retail Plus, The Rockspring German Box Fund, The Rockspring Portuguese Property Partnership, Rockspring Total Europe, Rockspring UK Value Fund and single client mandates. With property assets currently located in the UK and 12 other European countries, the firm today is one of Europe’s leading property investment managers.
Robert Gilchrist has been with Rockspring for over 23 years and has been active in the European property markets since 1983. After graduating from Cambridge University, he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and joined Rockspring in 1987. He has been the architect of much of the firm’s significant growth, in particular, the development and launch of new fund products. The first of these was the launch, in 1991, of TransEuropean 1 and the subsequent management of this series of closed-ended funds – TransEuropean V is currently being marketed. In 1998, he was appointed Managing Director. In 2004, alongside Mr. Richard Plummer, the Chairman, he led the successful MBO from Prudential Financial, and was appointed Chief Executive. He has played a leading role in growing Rockspring into one of the UK's leading Europe-wide property investment managers and he continues to be closely involved in new business and overseeing the fulfillment of Europe-wide investment strategies.
Rockspring prides itself on its client-focused approach. “As all of our investment products are funded entirely by equity sourced from third-party, international, blue-chip, institutional clients, everything we do is based on our clear understanding of investors’ needs and ambitions. We invest the time getting to know them and we apply our exceptionally experienced market knowledge and independent status to find solutions that are the ideal fit. It’s an approach that has been proven in every corner of the commercial property market and enabled us to build enduring relationships with leading real estate investors from around the globe,” said Mr Gilchrist.
The recent awards received by the company recognize Rockspring’s enduring commitment to generating value through real estate for its international blue-chip client base. They include ‘Europe Firm of the Year’ - Global PERE Awards 2010, ‘Property Fund Manager of the Year’ – Financial News / Dow Jones Awards for Excellence 2010 and ‘Property Manager of the Year’ - Global Pensions Awards 2011. Mr Gilchrist, commented, “We have spent more than 25 years finding new and innovative ways to create value for our clients. Today, we are fully independent in both structure and spirit and, with a Europe-wide network of property professionals, we work in partnership with our clients to create unique, performance-orientated European property investment vehicles.”
Mr. Gilchrist noted that Rockspring frequently works with global investors looking to invest for the first time in Europe. “It really does help having an experienced local presence throughout Europe.” comments Gilchrist. “Our network of offices across Europe combined with our long history and knowledge of its markets puts us in an exceptional position to advise our clients. For investors that are not inclined towards our tax-efficient co-mingled investment funds, we can assist them co-invest directly in hand-picked assets with other like minded investors in Europe.”
Whilst few investors escaped the global melt down, Rockspring have fared better than many of their competitors. Their core / core plus investment approach combined with their consistent track record and client-centric focus meant investors not only stuck by them, many committed new capital – during 2010 Rockspring closed their UK Value fund with £700m. In 2010 Rockspring invested €1.2 billion across Europe and to 31st March 2011 has seen investments totalling €380m. Notable recent transactions include:
88 Wood Street – acquisition of an iconic, landmark tower building at in the heart of the City of London for £183 million on behalf of a separate client mandate (November 2009)
O’Parinor Shopping Centre, Paris – acquisition of a 51% stake for €223 million on behalf of a separate client mandate (August 2010)
Ferio Shopping Centre, Konin, Poland – acquisition of a retail park for €47m on behalf of the TransEuropean Property Limited Partnership IV (Dec 2010)
The Feulner Portfolio – acquisition of three retail warehouse properties in Neuss, Kassel and the Emspark in Leer, West Germany purchased off-market from a private investor for a total consideration of €62.2 million on behalf of the Rockspring German Retail Box Fund (April 2011)
Speaking on the economic situation in Europe, Mr. Gilchrist noted that the debt crisis has affected everybody around the world in varying degrees. This has resulted in recession in many countries, but has also led to varying responses by national governments. In Europe, there continue to be large regional differences. Greece continues to experience recession, while the Spanish and Portuguese economies have been experienced flat growth. Individual governments are using differing approaches to reduce budget deficits, he noted. This crisis halted the incessant rise in property values that took place from 2003 to 2008, driven as much by the widespread availability of cheap debt as a lack of seasoned understanding of real estate fundamentals.
“We are seeing a steady recovery in economic prospects and confidence in markets. Today a lot of focus on significant fallout has been on Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece. They continue to highlight some of the ongoing issues in the European periphery.” said Gilchrist.
However, the recession has not resulted in a significant amount of distressed assets coming onto the market. For instance, in UK there was a peak-to-trough fall in asset values of around 40 percent, but the period of decline was swift and subsequently experienced an equally fast recovery.
“Distress will come about largely as a consequence of the behaviour and reaction of the banks. There is a lot of talk about 2008-9 being one of worst recessions but in my experience 1990-93 was actually worse. The problem then was that a construction boom coincided with recession and oversupply in real estate was much greater then,” he said. The banks, having learnt their lesson, are choosing to hold on to assets today and working through problems before selling them in a steady and unforced manner.
In this context he noted that Korean investors who are selectively looking for landmark assets in UK and Paris are doing so at the right time. “The real estate fundamentals are better. While people may be scared of lower cap rates today, they actually reflect significant rental growth expectations. Their timing is perfectly reasonable and making investments today is safe.”
Typically non-EU investors look at London and it makes sense. London sits alongside New York, Sydney and Tokyo as a global city. It is very much on the radar screen, with Paris a strong second. More adventurous investors may be looking at Germany, Spain or other smaller cities in Europe, but they are in a much smaller proportion.
“One of the reasons I am extremely positive about prospects for investment and ownership in London and Paris is because we are in the middle of the globalisation of everything. Looking back at the London market in 90’s there were only a couple of Japanese, American and European investors. The predominant ownership was by UK institutions. Since then, the market has changed dramatically. Now there are Koreans, Australians, Canadians, Russians and Malaysians to name a few. This is not going to stop.”
In terms of core assets and core market, there is, inevitably, only a limited supply and so competition can be quite intense for investments in the core sectors.
He noted that there isn’t just one ‘right’ answer to the question of how the investors should approach the UK market - either directly or through co-investment club deals, but what is absolutely essential, for any investor that is considering investing globally, is the necessity of access to local expertise before even trying to negotiate and acquire an asset.
“Such investors have to work with a partner in Europe who can provide access to unbiased legal, tax and other structuring requirements in order to fully understand the implications of ownership and returns they can achieve. Once they understand this, then they can start to look at specific transaction opportunities, because by then they know the implications of investing in a particular market,” he said.

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Interview: Mr. Hyun In-taek, Minister of Unification

On May 9th, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a surprising offer by inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to Seoul for an international nuclear summit next year with U.S. President Barack Obama and dozens of world leaders if Pyongyang makes a firm commitment to give up its atomic programs.
The proposal, if realized and followed through by Pyongyang, could theoretically lead to the North's reclusive leader attending an international summit with foreign leaders for the first time ever, as well as to a rare summit between leaders of the two Koreas.
The proposal was seen as aimed at pressuring Pyongyang to make a strategic choice to give up nuclear ambitions. It was also believed to be aimed at helping break the deadlock in inter-Korean relations, frayed badly after the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
President Lee's offer came as South Korea has increased pressure on North Korea to take concrete steps to demonstrate its denuclearization commitment before opening the six-party nuclear talks. The negotiations have been stalled since December 2008 due to Pyongyang's boycott and tensions over the North's deadly attacks on the South last year.
With tensions on the peninsula rising in recent months, we sought the views of Mr. Hyun In-taek, Minister of Unification, on the government’s policy towards the North and the way ahead.

Could you elaborate on the South Korean government policy towards unification and relations with the North, especially in light of the recent tension between both sides?
Basically, the South Korean government works to improve inter-Korean relations, build peace on the Korean peninsula and, ultimately, achieve a peaceful and gradual reunification of the Korean peninsula. We aim to achieve a Korean unity by building a peace, economic, and national community between the two Koreas. Since North Korea’s nuclear armament is the most pressing issue facing the Korean peninsula, we believe that building a peace community by denuclearizing North Korea should be the first step in our endeavours.
To this end, the Lee Myung-bak administration has proposed the “Vision 3000: Denuclearization and Openness” initiative. The initiative suggests that once North Korea decides to abandon its nuclear program, the South Korean government, together with the international community, will provide large-scale economic assistance to help North Korean economy make a substantial leap forward. In pursuing such a policy, the administration has maintained a “principled” approach by promoting sound inter-Korean relations based on mutual respect between the two Koreas and upholding such universal values as humanitarianism.
Despite our efforts, however, North Korea has continued to raise tensions on the Korean peninsula during the past three years with its brutal provocations, including the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at Mt. Geumgang in July 2008 and second nuclear test in May 2009, not to mention a torpedo attack on the Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last year.
To make a substantial improvement in inter-Korean relations, we believe that, more than anything else, North Korea must change its provocative attitude. In this regard, we have urged North Korea to take responsible measures regarding the two attacks it made last year, promise non-recurrence of such provocations in the future, and hold inter-Korean talks on the nuclear issue to confirm its sincere commitment to denuclearization.

What is your opinion of the economic cooperation programs like Gaeseong? What has been the progress of these ventures and do you think they should continue?
It has been already eight years since the two Koreas embarked on the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC) in June 2003. The Complex has grown significantly over a short period of time. Even despite North Korea’s provocations last year, the South Korean government has sustained the Complex.
The number of South Korean companies operating in the GIC currently is 122, a 30% increase from three years ago. Although new investment in the Complex has remained restricted since the Lee Myong-bak administration suspended interactions with North Korea following North Korea’s attack on the South Korean corvette Cheonan, most South Korean companies in the GIC have been doing their business as usual. Last January, for example, the total production in the Complex reached US$ 31 million, recording an all-time high on a monthly basis.
Yet, if we are to make the GIC an industrial complex with a truly global standard, several key issues must be cleared. The most important of all is to allow South Korean workers commute more freely to the Complex. In this regard, we have urged the North many times to remove inconvenience related to so-called the “3C” issues--border crossing, communication, and customs clearance. Another issue arises from the very fact that the GIC is located in North Korea. This makes the Complex vulnerable to the ups and downs in general inter-Korean relations, which, in turn, may affect the investment climate. Moreover, the personal safety of our workers has yet to be fully guaranteed.
Nevertheless, as long as the situation does not deteriorate drastically due to such factors as military provocations by North Korea, the South Korean government is willing to maintain and even support steady growth of the Complex. While placing our highest priority on the personal safety of South Korean citizens working in the Complex, we will keep addressing the need for institutionalization to improve procedures for entry and stay for the GIC workers.

Early last month, we understand that North Korea jammed GPS signals and also resorted to hacking of many government websites. Given this, how well prepared is the Korean government to tackle North Korea’s cyber warfare capabilities?
The disruptive electronic waves that jammed our GPS signals last March seems to have originated from several regions in North Korea, including Haeju and Gaeseong. In response to such threats, the South Korean government has reinforced its security and monitoring system in order to prevent additional cyber attacks by North Korea. We have also reorganized and expanded relevant government agencies and increased cooperation among the government, military, and private sector.
South Korea certainly has technologies to counter North Korea’s cyber warfare. With capabilities far surpassing those of North Korea, we can and will properly counter any cyber threats from North Korea in the future.

The six party nuclear talks have stalled for some time now. When do you foresee the next talks taking place, and what are the main challenges on this front?
These days people often ask whether the Six-Party Talks will be resumed and, if so, when. I think, however, a more relevant question should be how productive the talks would be when they are resumed. When resumed this time, the Six-Party Talks should result in a concrete contribution to the denuclearization of North Korea. They should not be the “talks for talks’ sake.” To avoid it, North Korea must come to the table with a serious and sincere commitment to denuclearization.
North Korea has a long record of violating agreements, including the 1994 Geneva accord and the September 19 joint statement reached under the six-party framework. This is exactly why South Korea and the rest of the international community have continuously urged the North to prove its sincere commitment to denuclearization through actions, not just words.
The outcome of the talks is more important than whether the talks would be resumed or when they would. In this regard, I would like to stress once again that the North must abandon its nuclear ambition. To induce such a change in North Korean attitude, we must work with the international community.

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Interviews: Mr. Pierre Vaquier, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Real Estate & Mr. Frank Khoo, Global Head of Asia

The AXA Group has been managing real estate portfolios for over 30 years. The different real estate units were consolidated with the strategic decision in 1999 to create AXA Real Estate Investment Managers. This was done so to complete the consolidation
of AXA’s real estate management capabilities throughout Europe.
At the same time, it was considered that there was a significant opportunity to leverage this infrastructure, in order to become a leading panEuropean real estate investment manager offering services to both external institutional investors as well as existing AXA clients.
Since 2006, AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has expanded its presence in Asia with offices in Tokyo and Singapore. In 2010, AXA Real Estate Investment Managers
became AXA Real Estate and expanded its global footprint with the creation of a capital raising team based in the United States.
As noted by Mr. Frank Khoo, Global Head of Asia, AXA Real Estate, today, the company is the world’s second largest real estate fund and asset manager, and the largest in Europe, with €40 billion of assets under management. It has over 120 external institutional clients spread across the world, in addition to managing funds for around 10 AXA insurance companies.
“With 500 real estate people operating in 22 countries, AXA Real Estate's competitive advantage stems from its global fund management expertise combined with extensive on-the-ground deal sourcing, asset management and development execution capabilities,” he said.
The company structures and actively manages investment products, seeking wide-ranging opportunities along the risk spectrum to deliver targeted returns commensurate with clients' risk profiles, through a variety of investment strategies.
These range from core to opportunistic, country-specific to geographically diversified, sector-specific to multi-sector, with the capacity to invest at all levels of the capital structure.”
“Our core business is real estate fund, asset, and development management. We have extensive local expertise in all of the major property types. In addition, AXA Real Estate offers specialist local expertise in areas such as transaction execution, development, asset and project management, tax, legal, accounting, risk management and compliance.”
Mr. Khoo joined the company in 2008 to help the company expand its operation in Asia. Appointed as Global Head of Asia, based in Singapore, he coordinates the development of the company’s investment and asset management activities in the region.
He also manages the development of investment platforms in Japan and has set up a local presence in other parts of the region which are important to AXA Real Esate’s strategy. He has contributed to the launch of Asian investment funds to develop its asset base in Asia on behalf of its clients.
With over 15 years in the investment industry, he has extensive experience in private equity and real estate and a deep knowledge of all the Asian markets. His expertise in deal sourcing and execution as well as fund launches have contributed widely to the company’s ambitions to become a major player in the Pan-Asian real estate investment industry.
In addition, Mr. Khoo has also been appointed as Co-Chairman of the EUCCK Real Estate Committee and will be coordinating its activities, seeking to give is wider exposure in Singapore and other Asian markets.
Speaking on this new role with the chamber, he noted that the Committee has already established itself as one of the premier platforms for Real Estate professionals in the region, having organized highly reputed international conferences and meetings. As Co-Chairman, he hopes to contribute towards expanding its activities and raising its profile even more.
Speaking on the priorities for AXA Real Estate, he noted that global growth remains a key priority and AXA Real Estate is currently expanding its presence in both the US and Asia, most recently with the launch of its US platform last year.
He also noted that the company signed an agreement with The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co Ltd (STB), one of the largest trust banks in Japan, formalizing plans to jointly set up a new investment fund for Japanese real estate.
“Over the past three years, we have substantially expanded our operations across the Asia region, establishing the new Asian headquarters in Singapore, announcing a memorandum of understanding with China’s Ping An Trust to co-invest in developing residential projects in China and also the deal with STB.”
These developments were the next step in AXA Real Estate’s plans to offer a diversified range of Asian real estate opportunities to institutional investors, in complement to the firms established European capabilities, he said.
“We already had an existing team on ground in Japan, but we chose to tie up with Sumitomo as we feel that this tie up will greatly enhance our execution ability in Tokyo both from the aspect of deal sourcing and asset management.”
There is no doubt that investors are now recognising that the pace of growth in the Asian property market is likely to outpace that of both the US and Europe. As such, they are increasingly prepared to consider exposure to the region when building up a balanced global strategy, he added.
He said that in general there was a ‘three-tier’ approach emerging in terms of investors' attitude. One for countries like Japan, which as the most mature Asian market, offers investors core investment characteristics especially on good quality commercial assets. The next for ‘semi-developed’ markets like Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, while the last for the emerging Asian markets like China and India.
The emerging markets are more opportunistic and therefore are more suited to those investors who are prepared to accept a slightly higher risk profile.
“Asia is becoming a strategic destination for the real-estate investor and we want to support our group and third party client efforts in diversification and creation of value,” he
said.
In a separate interview, Mr. Pierre Vaquier, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Real Estate, who was in Seoul to meet with potential investor partners noted that while Korea is an important market for the company, it is not an immediate priority.
“ We want to expand our investments in Asia, are considering Korea for medium term exposure. Although a very mature market, it is still dominated by domestic players. It is only recently that the foreign investors have started coming it. We look at it as a key investment market in the long term,” he said.
When the company invests in a new territory, they consider it very important to have local expertise. While in Europe they have setup their own local teams, in Asia, the strategy is to have both a local team and a local partner. For example the company has teamed up with a local partner in China.
As for the emerging BRICs, he noted that they have a huge potential, and each country has its own advantages, although Russia does not have the characteristics of other emerging markets and is energy driven. The outlook for China, India and Brazil is very positive.
“The only country where we have no strategy is South Africa, as it is a market of its own, and we have to be very cautious.”
Mr. Vaquier said the main challenges the company faces in new markets is to understand local characteristics and have a secure environment to do business.
“We need to be careful with volatility of markets, and have to be very careful with the business cycles. Getting a good local partner is important as also investing in real estate asset classes which are backed by growth model.” support case
With regard to the European economy which has been hit by the debt crisis in Ireland, Greece and Portugal, he said AXA is “cautiously positive” that the recovery will take place soon.
“ The worst is behind us, and many private companies are expanding again. The worries on the debt are not going to disappear overnight, and will take a few years. But it will definitely recover.”
While the citizens of many of the countries have been protesting the austerity measures that have been implemented in these countries, he noted that the combination of higher taxes and slower consumption is painful, but there are not much choices left.
“The governments have to take into account all factors. The people are critical not of the measures, but how it is being implemented,” he said.
Speaking on the impact of the Japanese tsunami on the company’s business, he noted that although it is too early to say, it will likely not have much of an impact. The disaster has shown that earthquake regulations have been effective in limiting the damage. While the economy may be effected in the short term, the reconstruction efforts will help the economy grow again.
Since AXA is involved in life insurance and not in property/causality insurance, there will be no impact on the parent company, he said.

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