AIA Group reported a 10% increase in value of new business (VONB) for the first half of 2026, supported by growth across its distribution channels and business segments outside Thailand.
VONB, a measure of the expected profits from new premiums and an important indicator of future growth, reached US$3.21 billion on a constant exchange rate basis. The result was broadly in line with the company-compiled consensus estimate of US$3.2 billion.
Growth was broad-based, with all reportable segments delivering positive growth except Thailand, which faced an exceptionally strong comparative period.
Excluding Thailand, AIA’s VONB increased 14% year-on-year on a constant currency basis.
Hong Kong, one of AIA’s largest contributors to profit, recorded a 10% increase in VONB during the six months, helped by demand from both domestic customers and visitors from Mainland China.
The group’s VONB margin remained at 57.1%, broadly unchanged from the first half of 2025. In Hong Kong, a stronger product mix supported margins while this was offset by a shift towards lower-margin participating products in Mainland China and weaker margins in Thailand following unusually strong medical insurance sales in the previous year.
“Asia remains the most compelling growth opportunity for life and health insurance,” AIA Group CEO and President Lee Yuan Siong said.
He added that structural tailwinds across the region were supporting demand for the group’s products and its longer-term growth prospects.
AIA operates across 18 Asian markets including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea, alongside Australia, New Zealand and a joint venture in India.
The results come after Hong Kong-listed insurers faced pressure earlier this month following reports that Chinese tax authorities had begun imposing a 20% personal income tax on returns from Hong Kong insurance policies, raising concerns over demand from mainland customers.
AIA also declared an interim dividend of 53.90 Hong Kong cents per share, up 10% from a year earlier.
Reuters
