ATRKE poised to acquire All Asia Life Assurance

ATRKE Capital, a joint venture between the ATR Holdings Group and Singaporean listed investment holding company Kim Eng, is close to signing an agreement with the All Asia Trust & Capital Group for the acquisition of the latter’s insurance unit, All Asia Life Assurance Corp.

An official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said ATRKE Capital is in the process of finalizing an agreement for its acquisition of a majority interest in All Asia Life. The SEC official said both parties are trying to iron out some minor details before an agreement can be signed.

As an initial step, in February 2002, ATRKE Capital entered into a management contract with All Asia Life under which it shall act and serve as general manager of the insurance firm until the completion of the acquisition.

It was reported earlier that the Yuchengco group had signified interest in acquiring All Asia Life Assurance. The Yuchengco group sells insurance products through Great Pacific Assurance Corp. and Malayan Insurance Co. Inc.

ATRKE Capital said the move to acquire All Asia Life Assurance is part of its ongoing diversification into financial services-related businesses that can provide recurring and stable earnings to the company. It will further seek, evaluate and complete investment opportunities in the life and/or non-life insurance industry.

ATRKE Capital’s life insurance unit, ATR Professional Life offers individuals and group life, hospitalization and personal accident insurance programs. It has a sales force of 102 agents and in 2001, ranked 18th in the industry in terms of gross premiums.

As for its stockbrokerage business, ATRKE Securities will implement a more comprehensive account management system for its Asian-based clientele to increase the revenue component generated from foreign-based clients. The company will continue to build its retail trading business by beefing up its agency team. These programs, in combination with the recent implementation by the Philippine Stock Exchange of a minimum brokerage fee for PSE board transactions are expected to enhance the company’s revenue streams.

It ranked 7th among 139 active stockbrokerage houses in the PSE for the first six months of the year with a value turnover of P8.2 billion.

ATRKE Capital’s primary business is investment banking, focusing on corporate finance and fixed income, securities brokerage and trust services. It ranks as among the top 10 investment houses in the country as of year-end 2001.

Incorporated in 1993, ATRKE was originally known as Peregrine Capital Philippines Inc., the Philippine affiliate of Peregrine Investment Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong until the ATR Holdings Group acquired 100-percent ownership in 1998. A year later, ATR sold its 43.03-percent ownership in ATRKE Capital to Kim Eng, a Singapore listed investment holding company that owns a network of stockbrokerages in the Asian region as well as sales offices in New York and London.