AIA, the world’s second largest life insurance company, has arrived in Cambodia pledging to play a key role in the kingdom’s dynamic growth and development.
Ng Keng Hooi, chief executive and president designate of AIA Group Limited, said that AIA has the right people and strategy to make sure the company plays a key role in the region, including building and growing its business in Cambodia.
“Cambodia obviously is a market that we have great interest in because Cambodia is a fast growing economy and the penetration of insurance is still very low there,” he said. “We believe we can play an important role in this market and participate in its socio-economic development.
“We want to contribute also in terms of creating. We are in 18 countries in Asia. In all these countries we are on the top in the market. AIA is a huge group and we have huge financial resources. Our market capitalisation is more than $80 billion.”
Richard Bates, CEO of AIA Cambodia, said the company was initially looking at an investment over the next 3-5 years. It was all about laying foundation for the long term. “We understand what consumers in Cambodia are looking for and we are designing solutions that are relevant to them,” he said.
“There are two key areas that will differentiate us from other companies. We will be the first life insurance company with critical illness insurance, including cancer. We have two distribution channels and we are launching our operation in partnership with Cambodia Public Bank which is the operation across the country and we are utilising the infrastructure and network,” he added. “At the same time we are also developing a sales force, initially in Phnom Penh and soon after we will expand offices throughout the country.”
Smart Axiata Co. Ltd. and AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance Plc. have recently announced a long-term partnership in bringing a variety of life insurance products and services to people in Cambodia to meet their growing financial protection and saving needs.
Ngoun Sokha, secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said that the insurance sector was still in infancy in Cambodia despite fast growth in recent years. “The insurance sector expanded by 95 percent in 2016 compared with 2015 due to people’s greater understanding of the importance of life insurance,” she said.
