[ET Net News Agency, 7 May 2018] Daiwa Research raised its target price for AIA Group
(01299) to HK$92 from HK$88, and retained its "buy" rating.
The research house said AIA's headline VNB for 1Q beat expectations on steady business
quality improvements across key markets, notably China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Favourable change in geographic mix (China grew much faster than the group), and
product-mix change (mostly in Hong Kong), drove a substantial 9.8pp YoY rise in the VNB
margin.
Daiwa believes AIA China's continued efforts in to penetrate lower-tier cities also
helped. It revised up its 2018 VNB slightly from 26.7% to 27.8%, factoring in the 1-month
EV upward revision due to the change in financial year-end. (KL)