Indonesia remains the missing piece in IAG’s six-country Asian expansion strategy, CEO Mike Wilkins says.

“It’s a market that you can’t ignore,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “It’s 230 or 240 million people rapidly emerging and it’s a market we like for quite a few reasons: good stability, reasonable regulatory environment and also the fact that foreigners can own up to 80% in that market.”

Mr Wilkins says that while there is no specific target in Indonesia, a detailed review has reaffirmed its importance to IAG’s group’s Asian growth strategy.

He says the group will seek to enter the market through a joint venture with a local partner, as it has in other Asian markets.

IAG already has a foothold in Malaysia, Thailand, India, China and Vietnam.

In response to analysts’ concerns that the acquisition strategy is putting pressure on IAG’s capital base, IAG Asia CEO Justin Breheny says the group’s balance sheet is not overstretched and the acquisitions will “not go on and on”.

Meanwhile, IAG’s convertible preference share (CPS) offer closed last week, raising $377.4 million.

CFO Nick Hawkins says the offer is an important part of the group’s capital management strategy.

A wide-ranging interview with Mr Wilkins will be published in the June/July edition of Insurance News (the magazine).