AMP Ltd. said it closed its venture capital arm to focus on improving its overall performance after booking almost US$1 billion in impairment and one-off charges for the fiscal year ending June 30, Reuters reported Jan. 25, citing an AMP spokesman.

New Ventures, which was established in 2015, will no longer make investments in startups to support the insurer's goal of improving overall performance in the short term, the spokesman said.

The move comes after the insurer said it expects to book A$1.17 billion in impairment and other one-off charges for the financial year ending June 30.

Australian insurers have been seeing a decline in business following a scandal concerning the refusal of insurance payouts.

As of Jan. 24, US$1 was equivalent to A$1.32