INSURANCE MARKET
Munich Re would welcome long-term investor, says CEO
Munich — Munich Re would welcome a long-term investor taking a significant stake in the company as the world’s largest reinsurer eyes a return to profit growth this year, its CEO said. Joachim Wenning’s comments come as Japan’s SoftBank is in talks to take a stake in rival Swiss Re, and after other German corporate titans including Daimler and Deutsche Bank have attracted big investors from China over the past year. "In principle we would welcome an anchor investor," Wenning said, noting US investor Warren Buffett once held 12%-13% of Munich Re. But he was not searching for such an investor and declined to say whether Munich Re had received approaches. Wenning, a year at the helm as CEO, faces shareholders on Wednesday at the company’s annual general meeting. Profit has declined for each of the past five years, but Wenning is confident of an upturn. "We’ve reached a turnaround and our profit target for 2018 is higher than last year," he said. Wenning’s optimism contrasts with credit...
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