AIA Group will celebrate its centennial year in 2019 with a 12-month programme of special events and activities across the Asia-Pacific region.
The Hong Kong-headquartered company’s roots trace back to 1919 when Cornelius Vander Starr founded American Asiatic Underwriters in Shanghai, which would later be known as American International Group (AIG). In 2009, AIG formed the AIA Group following the global financial crisis, and, in 2012, it sold its remaining stake in AIA.
As part of the celebrations, AIA will hold a year-long series of 100-themed physical activities across its 18 markets in Asia-Pacific, each connected by the passing of a ‘centennial baton’. These activities include walks, hikes, and running events, and each activity will support a local community charity or special cause.
The insurer will also involve David Beckham, the company’s global ambassador, as well as English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, its global principal partner.
“AIA has been in Asia for a century and we operate in some of the most dynamic and attractive life insurance markets in the world,” said Ng Keng Hoi, CEO and president of AIA Group. “In recognising AIA’s centennial, we are celebrating our unwavering commitment to safeguarding the financial security of consumers across the region. As AIA looks forward to the next 100 years, our promise of ‘healthier, longer, better lives’ is especially relevant to meeting the growing needs of customers created by the unprecedented structural economic, demographic and social changes taking place across our markets.”
