ING LIFE THAILAND PLANS AGENT TRAINING

Thailand-based ING Life intends to increase the number of tied agents it employs to 8,500 from the current 7,500 by the end of the year, according to CEO Rajesh Sethi. Speaking to Bangkok Post , he said that “we need to grow this year with new agents. A lot of emphasis will be given to training our tied agents, especially outside Bangkok. ING Life Thailand reported sales growth of 44% last year to THB5.1bn ($161.8m), with first-year premiums up 30% to THB1.74bn. However, telesales dropped by 9% to THB325m. Mr Sethi said that he anticipated first-year premiums growing this year by 22% to THB2.1bn, with total premiums rising by 26% to THB6.06bn. He said that in the telesales sector “we are committed to upgrading the quality of calls and the number of partners”.