TOKYO : Nippon Life Insurance plans to increase holdings of Japanese government bonds (JGB) and foreign corporate bonds, with interest rates converted to Japanese yen through currency swaps, in the remaining fiscal year through March, an investment planning executive said on Wednesday.
Although JGB yields are at their highest levels in a decade, now is not the time to buy aggressively since there is a chance for yields to go higher, Akira Tsuzuki told a news conference held to discuss the insurer's investment plans for the second half of this fiscal year.
Japan's largest private insurer said the company had started off the first half of the fiscal year purchasing super-long JGBs at a restrained pace, but has since seized the chance to increase purchases following the rise in yields after the Bank of Japan adjusted its yield curve control policy at its July monetary policy meeting.