“If we look at the economy in Japan, it is really strong but our sales are primarily driven by interest rates. And so the stronger interest rates have really helped us. So as long as that continues, we think we've got a really solid platform on which to leverage the higher sales.”

In context

“ayers and none of that is really having any material impact at this point. John Barnidge : Thank you. Operator: And our next question is from Mike Ward with Citi. Please go ahead. Mike Ward : Thanks guys. Good morning. I was just wondering if you could comment on the trends in Asia. It seems like the economy in Japan at least is reengaging or reopening. So any thoughts on maybe the near-term outlook there? Lyndon Oliver : Hey, Mike it's Lyndon here. So just as we look at broadly Asia, I'll just comment on sales and then maybe we can getting Japan more specifically. Overall, we've had a very strong quarter and year-over-year sales continue to be very strong. We've seen a 5% growth overall and in Japan 3%. In Asia, in total we've been up 8% and that's driven broadly between Korea and China. If we look at the economy in Japan, it is really strong but our sales are primarily driven by interest rates. And so the stronger interest rates have really helped us. So as long as that continues, we think we've got a really solid platform on which to leverage the higher sales. Mike Ward: Thanks. And then, maybe just could you guys maybe speak to your appetite, specifically for inorganic growth in the US around voluntary benefits that would be helpful. Thanks. Michel Khalaf: Hi Mike. It's Michel. So, as I mentioned earlier, whereas we don't see any gaps when it comes to our Group Benefits business here. We've been growing voluntary at -- in the high-teens for a number of years. The employee paid component of our sales is also growing. We're always open to do something inorganically, if we feel that it fits strategically, if it adds the capability, if it helps us accelerate revenue growth, provided it is accretive over time and provided it also compares favorably to other potential uses of capital. So whereas there are no gaps, we have M&A as a strategic capabili”