AXA Life Insurance (Japan), which has over JPY382 trillion (USD3.59 billion) in assets, is studying trading equity-default swaps for its Tokyo-based equity department for the first time. "These are pretty new to Japan," said Katsuaki Oshima, assistant manager in the asset allocation department in Tokyo.
Oshima said the insurer is in the midst of drawing up its investment strategy for the year, which he said may include equity-default swaps on Japanese stocks. "We're studying this to see if it is suitable," he said declining to elaborate on the information it requires. Oshima explained that the company should have its plan in place within the next several weeks and could potentially trade the product soon after. He declined to elaborate on potential investment sizes or name the banks AXA is speaking with in regards to EDS.
AXA also trades over-the-counter options, equity swaps and structured notes in Japan.
