Allianz to Double Infrastructure Investments

Allianz is planning to double its investments in infrastructure and renewable energy within the next two to three years as it seeks to diversify its 638 billion euros ($726.43 billion) in assets, a unit head told Reuters.

Like all of its peers, Europe's largest insurer has to invest its customers' premiums and is increasingly turning to alternative investments such as infrastructure, real estate and private equity in its search for return as bond yields have come down sharply in the low interest rate environment.

Allianz Capital Partners (ACP) is targeting to buy solar and wind power assets worth about 3 billion euros within that time span as well as grids, roads, airports and other regulated assets worth about 4 billion euros, Juergen Gerke told Reuters.

($1 = 0.8783 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze und Alexander Huebner