British insurer Aviva said it aimed to slash its hybrid debt by at least £700 million over the next three years as part of an overall strategy to boost its profits and returns for shareholders.

Aviva, which is the world's sixth-biggest insurer, added it had cut its pension deficit to £400 million pounds as of November 30, 2010 from £1.7 billion at the end of 2009.

"We have a clear strategy to grow our dividend and profits through increasing our geographic focus and in light of the changed economic environment and our strong capital generation we're planning to reduce our hybrid debt over the next three years," Aviva chief executive Andrew Moss said in a statement.

Last year, Aviva rejected a £5 billion approach by rival RSA for some of Aviva's key non-life insurance businesses, and since then Aviva has been keen to highlight the company's growth potential to investors.

The company said executives would brief investors on the details of its balance sheet management during the course of this morning.

Reuters