AIA gains approval to expand to China’s Shandong province

It is the second most populous province in mainland China.

AIA Group has gotten approval from the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) Shandong Bureau to begin preparations to establish a new branch in the
Shandong province in October 2024.

Shandong is the second most populous province in mainland China. It has over 100 million residents, 30% who are middle class, according to AIA.

AIA hailed Shandong as “a driver of China’s continued reform and opening up,” saying that this meant that the region has a favourable operating environment for foreign enterprises.

AIA’s planned entry into Shandong meant that the insurer now has access to over 60% of mainland China’s life insurance market, said Lee Yuan Siong, AIA group chief executive and president.

“Our geographical expansion, coupled with our high-quality, personalised products and differentiated positioning in Mainland China, give us confidence that AIA can continue to grow strongly and deliver sustainable value for our stakeholders,” Lee said in a press release.

Branch operations in Shandong will commence once final regulatory approvals are secured.

On the same day, AIA Group announced that it has received regulatory approval to expand into the Anhui province.

China has operations in Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and has expanded into new geographies including Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and Tianjin.