AIA Group reports 22% surge in value of new business for H1 2021

The group’s China segment was named its largest contributor.

Hong Kong-headquartered, AIA Group Limited, reported a 22% surge value of new business (VONB) to $1.81b for the first half of 2021.

According to AIA’s Group Chief Executive and President Lee Yuan Siong, the group saw an increase in all their key financial metrics.

Lee said VONB exceeded pre-pandemic levels in all reportable segments except Hong Kong.

AIA China was named the group's largest contributor to its VONB and delivered a very strong 20% increase in VONB on a like-for-like basis. 

“We have also made rapid progress in our geographical expansion in Mainland China with the launch of our new operation in Sichuan Province and the regulatory approval to prepare for a new branch in Hubei Province,” Lee added.

Meanwhile, AIA reported that whilst travel restrictions continue to limit sales to Mainland Chinese visitors, its Hong Kong business achieved 16% VONB growth in the domestic customer segment, benefiting from its targeted propositions and new growth initiatives.

In its Macau branch, Mainland Chinese visitor sales contributed over one-third of the total annualised new premiums in the first half of 2021, supported by the resumption of the Individual Visit Scheme.

AIA’s business in Thailand achieved excellent VONB growth of 52% compared to the first half of 2020, driven by our successful shift in product mix towards protection and unit-linked products. AIA Singapore’s VONB was 32% higher year on year despite a tightening of containment measures from May. AIA Malaysia delivered the highest VONB growth amongst our reportable segments of 89%. 

“We have continued to make excellent progress with our strategic priorities as we embrace the transformation that will further extend our competitive advantages and enable AIA to capture the significant growth opportunities available to us across Asia. The upgrading of our technology to world-class modern architecture and systems has gathered pace as we make targeted investments in digital tools and embed data analytics at scale into our businesses. This transformation is enabling us to significantly enhance the experience of our customers, distributors, partners, and employees while achieving greater growth and efficiency,” Lee said.