NST Online Business Times : latest

AIA upbeats with its value of new business

Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:06 PM PDT

HONG KONG: AIA Group Ltd, the world's fourth-largest insurer by market capitalisation, reported on Friday a forecast-beating 26 per cent 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 per cent 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 per cent 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 US$645 million from US$512 million a year earlier, the Hong Kong-based company said. That beat predictions of 21 per cent growth, according to the average estimate of three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. VONB margins fell one percentage point to 41.6 per cent.

Shares of AIA rose almost two per cent in early trade before erasing gains to trade down 0.5 per cent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was 0.2 per cent lower.

AIA's shares have risen 18 per cent in the year to date, outperforming those of local peers like PICC, Ping An Group and China Life, which have fallen, data from Thomson Reuters StarMine shows.-- Reuters

FBM KLCI declines in early trade

Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:40 PM PDT

Malaysia's benchmark stock index dropped in early trade, dragged by losses in the country's second largest lender CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and consumer products-to-property conglomerate PPB Group Bhd.

The index, which was down 0.1 per cent at 1,805.82 points at 9.06am in Kuala Lumpur, underperformed MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan that rose 0.5 per cent, while it outperformed Tokyo's Nikkei share average that fell 1.6 per cent.

Shares of both CIMB and PBB dropped about 0.7 per cent.

"A mixture of cautious mood and profit-taking activity could cap our Malaysian bourse performance for the time being," HwangDBS Vickers Research said in a research note to clients on Friday.

"On the chart, the benchmark FBM KLCI will probably move sideways with a marginal downward bias ahead. Its key support line is presently seen at the psychological mark of 1,800."

HwangDBS said investors would watch Encorp Bhd after the property developer announced it had won a contract for RM114 million to construct a business centre in Selangor, the country's richest state.

Encorp shares were up 2.7 per cent at 96 sen at 9.09am.-- Reuters

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Khamis, 25 Julai 2013

NST Online Business Times : latest

NST Online Business Times : latest

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan