PRESS RELEASE

AIA announces new ESG strategy

15 March 2021

Hong Kong, 15 March 2021 – AIA Group Limited (“AIA”; or the “Company”; stock code: 1299) today releases its Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Report 2020, detailing the Company’s transformational, long-term ESG strategy that aims to maximise the value it brings to communities in Asia.

The new strategy reflects how AIA has identified five strategic pillars for its ESG programme: Health and Wellness; Green Operations; Sustainable Investment; People and Culture; and Effective Governance. These will enable AIA to focus on the areas that will deliver the most value for its stakeholders. AIA‘s ESG performance will be reported in its annual ESG Report to ensure accountability and transparency.

AIA Group Chief Executive and President Lee Yuan Siong said: “AIA’s ambition is to be a global industry leader in ESG, shaping a sustainable future for Asia. Our new ESG Strategy gives us a clear roadmap to maximise the value we bring to our customers and communities, in line with our Purpose of helping millions of people live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.”

“We are deeply aware of the social and environmental issues our communities face, and we are committed to overcoming them in a sustainable and ethical fashion. We are proud of the recognition that our ESG programme has received so far, however we will continue to strive to do more to deliver meaningful outcomes for all of our stakeholders.”

The objectives behind the five pillars are summarised as follows:

  • Health and Wellness: Drive better health outcomes through greater engagement and access to quality care.
  • Green Operations: Reduce the environmental footprint of AIA’s operations. 
  • Sustainable Investment: Deliver long-term value by investing in companies that commit to sustainable outcomes.
  • People and Culture: Empower AIA’s people to succeed and ensure a fair and supportive culture.
  • Effective Governance: Ensure that AIA continues to operate to the highest standards of business practices, both in terms of its engagement with stakeholders, and how it manages risks.

AIA’s new ESG strategy comes after the company conducted a review of its existing programme, considering feedback from internal and external stakeholders. The review helped AIA to better understand its material sustainability issues, in order to address complex ESG risks and drive meaningful impact.

In recent years, AIA was recognised for its performance in ESG. Sustainalytics has ranked AIA second in the insurance industry for two consecutive years. CDP also placed AIA among its ‘leadership’ group (score of A-) for climate change performance, the highest scoring tier for the sector and one of the highest ratings for climate change performance for a Hong Kong-headquartered company.

For a full review of AIA’s ESG performance in 2020 and details on the new strategy, please refer to the ESG Report 2020 on AIA.COM.

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About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR(2), Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Brunei, Macau SAR(3) and New Zealand, and a 49 per cent joint venture in India.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai more than a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in Asia (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$326 billion as of 31 December 2020.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia, AIA serves the holders of more than 38 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).

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