Insurer AIA Group posts 10% jump in half-year new business value (updated)
UPDATE 3-Insurer AIA Group posts 10% jump in half-year new business value Adds management comments, stock price
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Insurer AIA Group 1299.HK posted a 10% jump in its half-year value of new business (VONB) on Thursday, boosted by strong sales growth in major markets including Hong Kong and China.
AIA's VONB, a measure of expected profits from new premiums and a key barometer of growth, came in at $3.21 billion on a constant exchange-rate basis, largely in line with a consensus estimate of $3.2 billion that was compiled by the company.
Its Hong Kong business, one of the group's largest profit contributors, logged a 10% increase in VONB for the six-month period, thanks to strong demand from local customers and visitors from mainland China.
AIA shares were recently down 0.8% at HK$72.45 after jumping as much as 1.7% earlier in the session.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong-listed insurers faced pressure after Chinese tax authorities started levying a 20% personal income tax on returns from Hong Kong insurance policies, raising concerns that tighter scrutiny of offshore investments could dampen demand from mainland customers.
However, AIA Chief Executive and President Lee Yuan Siong said the tax rules had always been in place and the company remained confident about its growth outlook and customer demand.
"We are not aware of any changes to the Chinese income tax laws on insurance products," Lee said on Thursday. "The structural drivers for demand for (Chinese mainland visitors) customers remain intact ... we have seen good demand from Chinese mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong to buy insurance products, even post all these news reports."
Hong Kong insurance products remained attractive to mainland Chinese visitors seeking diversification, access to international investments and healthcare services, he said.
AIA's VONB margin also remained strong at 57.1% in the first half, which was stable compared with the first half of 2025.
AIA said a better product mix lifted Hong Kong's first-half VONB margin, but this was offset by a shift to lower-margin participating products in mainland China and weaker margins in Thailand following unusually strong prior-period medical insurance sales.
AIA operates in 18 Asia-Pacific markets, including mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. It also has a joint venture in India.
AIA declared an interim dividend of 53.90 HK cents ($0.069) a share, up 10% from a year earlier.
($1 = 7.8409 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Jiaxing Li in Hong Kong, Sherin Sunny and Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara, Rashmi Aich and Thomas Derpinghaus)
((Rajasik.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com;))