Japan life insurers look to diversify foreign bond holdings

Tokyo

JAPANESE life insurers look set to continue increasing their purchases of foreign securities in the second half of the fiscal year, though some say US Treasuries are no longer attractive as currency-hedging costs mount.

Japan's life insurers have traditionally stuck to Japanese government bonds (JGBs), but they have diversified their portfolios over the past several years as domestic debt yields declined sharply under central bank easing.