PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French insurer AXA Group (AXAHY.PK) decides to divest its tobacco industry assets, as it says no to tobacco, making a mark as the first global insurer to divest from this industry.
AXA, in a statement on Thursday, said it will sell all its equity holdings in tobacco immediately, representing just over 180 million euros. It also intends to stop all new investments in tobacco companies' corporate bonds, and will run off its existing bonds, representing a further 1.5 billion euros withdrawal from tobacco investment. In total, the Group said, this withdrawal would represent about 1.7 billion euros.
Last May, AXA Group was the first major insurer and mainstream investor to divest from coal.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX