202 IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON Entering the Troubled Waters of the Global Marketplace: Bidding for Fortis The company's strategic framework was based on insurance, bank- ing, and asset management. Insurance accounted for 77 percent of profit, overshadowing the 10 percent produced by banking and the 13 percent coming from asset management. It would take signifi- cant time and effort and internal growth for the banking and asset management businesses to become as profitable as the insurance unit. Management looked to acquisition, and especially foreign acquisition, as a necessary shortcut. WHY FORTIS? The European bank Fortis appeared to be the most promising tar- get. Fortis had similar business lines of insurance, banking, and asset management, as well as a generous dividend policy. Every six