[THE INVESTOR] AIA Group on Sept. 20 denied market rumors that it plans to exit Korea, reaffirming its plan to incorporate the local unit soon.

“AIA Group has never withdrawn from any market around the world. Our 300 billion won (US$260 million) acquisition of a building for the regional office here three years ago illustrates our commitment,” CEO Ng Keng Hooi told reporters at a summit organized by Asia’s largest life insurance firm., 

Ng Keng Hooi

“We have always had strong capital and if the nation needs it we will continue to provide funding,” he said at the AIA Health and Wellness Leaders Summit in Seoul.

He added that the group would consider additional funding for the Korean market if necessary, referring to the nation’s planned adoption of the new IFRS 17 accounting standards for insurance contracts.

“We have been preemptively responding to the changing capital situation,” AIA Life Korea CEO Cha Tae-jin. “Though it appears to be very unlikely, if the IFRS17 adoption requires a capital increase, we will raise more to meet the needs.”

AIA Group is the largest publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. The company first entered the domestic market in 1987. The company posted a net profit of 177.7 billion won in the first half of 2017, which is double that in the same period last year.

By Alex Lee (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)