AIA Vietnam reports doubling in value of new business in 2015

Wayne Besant, AIA Vietnam’s CEO, said Vietnam presented plenty of opportunities for the company. “Our strong business performance has been driven by growth across all distribution channels, agency and partnership distribution. Given the opportunities here in Vietnam, I am personally excited by the prospect,” he said.

“Agency continues to be our primary distribution channel in Vietnam, and our success in this market is due to a strong execution focus on our core pillars of quality recruitment and productivity enhancement,” said Gordon Watson, AIA Group’s regional chief executive.

In 2015 the company launched the AIA Exchange – a new agency branch model aiming at attracting younger, full-time agents in the major metropolitan hubs of Vietnam.

“These branches and other recruitment initiatives have enabled us to grow the number of active new agents by more than 30 per cent over the year,” he added.

Watson also said Vietnam had immense untapped potential. “We are very well-positioned to capture these opportunities,” he said.

Globally, AIA Group reported a 26 per cent growth in value of new business to $2.198 billion in 2015. Annualised new premiums was $3,991 million, up 14 per cent, while IFRS operating profit after tax was up 16 per cent to $3,209 million

AIA Group Ltd.’s board of directors has recommended an upward rebasing of the final dividend by 50 per cent to 51.00 Hong Kong cents per share, bringing the total dividend for 2015 to 69.72 Hong Kong cents per share.

“Our strong results are once again the outcome of our robust and highly diversified business model with the right distribution platforms and product portfolios in the right markets, backed by our market-leading brand and financial strength,” said Mark Tucker, AIA Group’s chief executive and president.

“Despite the recent volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, Asia remains the most attractive and dynamic region for life insurance in the world. The life insurance industry continues to benefit from significant structural economic and demographic trends, rapid urbanisation and growth in disposable incomes across the region. We are confident that AIA’s leading businesses across Asia provide us with an advantaged position as we help millions of people around the region to live longer, healthier lives and plan for a brighter future,” he added.

The AIA Group Limited is the largest pan-Asian life insurance group in the world, with footprint spanning 18 markets in Asia Pacific. AIA’s products and services cover life insurance, savings and retirement planning, accident and health insurance, as well as wealth management solutions. The group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. AIA serves the holders of more than 29 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

Established in 2000, AIA Vietnam is now one of the leading life insurers in the market. AIA Vietnam serves the holders of over 520,000 policies across the country and has paid out a total of over VND2 trillion ($94 million) for insurance benefits in more 300,000 cases.