Market Chatter: Sumitomo Life Considers Acquisitions in Southeast Asia, US to Diversify Income

07:32 PM EDT, 10/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Sumitomo Life Insurance is considering buying companies in Southeast Asia and the US as the Japanese insurer seeks to expand and diversify its income, President Yukinori Takada said in an interview with Bloomberg in Singapore, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Takada said that the population in Japan is shrinking and it's quite difficult to assume that they can capture the growth there, the report said, adding that the insurer has set aside as much as 1 trillion yen ($6.3 billion) for investment under its mid-term plan running through March 2029 and it will use its overseas units, Singapore Life Holdings and US-based Symetra Financial, to look for targets. Takada said Sumitomo Life, which already holds minority interests in Indonesia and Vietnam, wants to expand further in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Income Insurance is among the targets under consideration in Singapore, he said, according to the report. In the US, Sumitomo Life would prefer companies that complement Symetra's business rather than cannibalize it, Takada told Bloomberg. He said the company is studying India but is mindful of regulatory and cultural hurdles, according to the report. (Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)