AIA Group is looking for additional investments in the healthcare and wellness sector across Asia, following its acquisition of MediCard Philippines Inc. last year.

The Hong Kong-based pan-Asian life insurance group completed the purchase of MediCard, a leading health maintenance organization in the Philippines, in the first quarter of 2023.

“With the acquisition of Medicard, we’re really doubling down on healthcare in the Philippines,” said AIA Group chief marketing officer Stuart Spencer in a Makati City interview. “And we’re looking at options all over Asia to invest in healthcare as a general category. We chose the Philippines because of the potential, the opportunity and how well-managed, well-run and established Medicard is.”

AIA Philippines, formerly AIA Philam Life established in 1947, is celebrating its 77th anniversary this month.

“We need to get deeper and stronger in the Philippines,” Spencer said. “For over 70 years, we were Philam Life. Philam Life was the crown jewel of AIG Group, where I started my career in insurance. In the financial crisis, AIG spun off AIA, and AIA became a listed entity on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2010. We are now the largest Hong Kong-based listed entity on the exchange.”

“The Philippines is a key business for AIA,” Spencer said. “We believe it has tremendous potential, and we’re putting our money where our mouth is. This includes expanding our investment management company, acquiring Medicard, deepening our relationship with BPI and ensuring we have the best agency advisory force in the industry.”

“We believe the dynamism, the passion, the capability of the Filipino people, the strong GDP growth, high levels of employment, foreign direct investment and relative political stability make the Philippines a great place for us to continue investing in the long term,” he said.

The AIA Group operates in 18 markets and has 30,000 employees.

“We are the leader in our industry,” Spencer said. “We have the broadest geographic footprint, an incredible capital base, the most talented people in the industry, and an outstanding brand with a very clear sense of purpose.”

“Our purpose is to enable people to realize healthier, longer and better lives,” he said. “As the leading life insurer across Asia, we have a vested interest in people living healthier lives. No other insurer has our purpose, and no other insurer is doing as much as we are to influence health outcomes.”

Spencer said AIA would continue to invest in the Philippines, where insurance penetration remains very low.

“We are a major investor in government bonds and infrastructure,” he said. “We invest where we operate, creating jobs and recycling that investment into the economy. We want to be an employer of choice and, most importantly, we want to protect the 116 million people of this country.”

“We’re here for the long term,” Spencer said. “We’ve been in the Philippines for 77 years, and we’re not going anywhere. The Medicard acquisition is a proof point of our commitment. We aim to take our life insurance, health insurance and healthcare businesses and create a powerful force for good in the Philippines, providing people with a more holistic health, life and wellness solution. That’s why AIA Vitality is very important to us.”