EBSCN·2025-08-22 03:58Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for AIA Group Limited (1299.HK) with a current price of HKD 73.45 [1] Core Insights - AIA Group achieved a post-tax operating profit of USD 3.61 billion in the first half of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 7% (fixed exchange rate) and 6.6% (actual exchange rate) [4][12] - The new business value reached USD 2.84 billion, up 14% (fixed exchange rate) and 15.6% (actual exchange rate) year-on-year, driven by increased sales and improved profitability of new business [5][12] - The embedded value stood at USD 70.85 billion, reflecting a 2.6% increase from the beginning of the year [4] Summary by Sections New Business Value - The new business value for the first half of 2025 was USD 2.84 billion, with quarterly growth rates of 12.8% and 18.9% for Q1 and Q2 respectively, primarily due to increased sales and enhanced profitability [5][6] - Annualized new premiums amounted to USD 4.94 billion, showing an 8.7% increase year-on-year [5] - The new business value margin recorded 57.7%, up 3.8 percentage points year-on-year, benefiting from product structure optimization and repricing in the Thailand and mainland China markets [5][6] Market Contributions - In mainland China, the new business value was USD 740 million, down 5% year-on-year, but showed a 10% increase when excluding economic assumption changes [6][11] - The Hong Kong market contributed significantly, with new business value increasing by 23.9% to USD 1.06 billion, maintaining its position as the largest contributor to the group's new business value [7][11] - The Southeast Asian market, particularly Thailand, saw a 45.4% increase in new business value to USD 520 million, aided by regulatory changes and strategic partnerships [8][11] Financial Performance - The net profit attributable to shareholders was USD 2.53 billion, down 23.5% year-on-year, mainly due to increased financial expenses related to insurance contracts [12] - The company returned USD 3.71 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, with an interim dividend of HKD 0.49 per share, up 10.1% year-on-year [12] - The report projects a downward revision of net profit forecasts for 2025-2027 to USD 7.0 billion, USD 7.6 billion, and USD 8.3 billion respectively [13]