AIA first-half value of new business growth beats expectations

Monday, 29 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

HONG KONG: AIA Group Ltd., the world’s fourth-largest insurer by market capitalisation, reported on Friday a forecast-beating 26% increase in its value of new business in the first half of the year, buoyed by growth across its markets in Asia. Value of new business (VONB) measures the projected profits from new policies. The growth in that metric, which Chief Executive Mark Tucker has focused on as an indicator of the company’s success, was particularly strong in Malaysia at 69% higher than the same period last year. That represents the group’s successful integration of ING’s former business in the country, bought by AIA in October last year. AIA also managed a 27% increase in new business growth in China at a time when the economy is slowing, a result that the company attributed to improvement in its product mix and an increase in the number of active sales agents on the mainland. VONB rose to $645 million from $512 million a year earlier, the Hong Kong-based company said. That beat predictions of 21% growth, according to the average estimate of three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. VONB margins fell one percentage point to 41.6%. local peers like PICC, Ping An Group and China Life, which have fallen, data from Thomson Reuters StarMine shows.

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