Focus required with AXA/NAB deal dragging on

AXA Asia Pacific Holdings (AXA AP) chief executive Andrew Penn has acknowledged the impact of continuing uncertainty around the proposed sale of his company.

Penn said the global financial crisis continued to have a profound impact on the financial services industry and investor sentiment, adding that regulatory change was particularly affecting financial services.

He alluded to the unpredictable environment as being a reason behind the dragging out of National Australia Bank's (NAB's) bid for AXA AP and the extension afforded to NAB by AXA AP's parent company, AXA SA.

"But the fact is large complex transactions take time to work through and as we announced the other day, the independent directors have provided a further period of time to allow the ACCC [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] to complete its deliberations on this matter," Penn said.

He added that what remains "crucially important" is that his company maintained a strong focus on business as usual, regardless of the corporate activity around them.

He said while the world might have become more unpredictable, the fundamental characteristics that make the industry attractive over the longer term have remained and will continue to see strong growth in the sector, and the Australasia region is set to perform better as Asia is predicted to outperform the rest of the OECD world.