AXA Asia Pacific (AXA APH) has announced assets of $724 million in excess of regulatory requirements at the end of October, following several initiatives to strengthen its capital, including the execution of derivate arrangements protecting equity positions in Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, and protection in the corporate bond portfolio in Hong Kong. It has also accessed $280 million of its debt facilities.

Andrew Penn, the chief executive of AXA APH, said: “Our focus has been on protecting ourselves to ensure we maintain excess capital on the one hand whilst ensuring that we remain well-positioned to benefit from the market recovery which will inevitably occur.

“There is no doubt 2008 has been a tough year and the outlook remains uncertain, particularly in the short term. We have the right strategies in place and we have implemented the right responses to the current market environment,” he added.

AXA also unveiled its Asia Ambition 2012 plan to double its enterprise value, annualised premium income, new business, and new business index over the next four years, by investing in its infrastructure and resources.

Mike Bishop, the regional chief executive, AXA Asia Life, said: “Asia remains a very attractive market and these new goals will ensure we continue to capitalise on the opportunity there.”