(Bloomberg) – Allianz SE, the German insurer that stemmed outflows at U.S. asset manager Pimco, is now trying to bulk up on the other side of the world.

Asia holds big promise

"Asia is still a relatively small part of the overall global portfolio but it holds a very big promise," George Sartorel, chief executive officer of the Asia-Pacific business, said in an interview. "We have kept quiet in Asia for a long time, but our goal is to accelerate growth in the region. We see it really as the growth engine for Allianz."

While it managed to turn around Pacific Investment Management Co., Allianz has lost ground in recent years to other European insurers in Asia Pacific, where a growing middle-class is driving demand for insurance. The region generates only about 4% of its premiums, versus about 36% for London-based Prudential Plc and about 10% for Axa SA of Paris.

"In terms of premiums and earnings, Asia is almost negligible at Allianz at the moment and compares poorly to Axa and even more so to Prudential," said  Nick Holmes, an analyst at Societe Generale SA who covers all three companies. "Both Axa and Prudential have stronger historic ties to the region."

Selling general insurance

Allianz joined with Standard Chartered Plc earlier this year to sell general insurance in the region through the bank's branches and digital platforms. In China, the Munich-based company is awaiting a license to sell online insurance nationwide in partnership with Chinese search engine Baidu Inc. and asset manager Hillhouse Capital Management.