(Bloomberg) -- AIA Group Ltd. reported a 30% increase in new business value last year, as low interest rates boosted sales in mainland China and Hong Kong benefited from the resumption in cross-border travel.

The measure of future profitability of new policies sold rose to $4.03 billion, from $3.09 billion a year earlier, the Hong Kong-based life insurer said in a statement Thursday. That is roughly in line with the $4.02 billion average estimate of 13 analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

That marked a drastic departure from the single-digit decline in 2022, when the pandemic disrupted sales in its largest markets, including mainland China and Hong Kong. 

AIA Group fell 1.9% as of 10 a.m. in Hong Kong. 

• Excluding the effect of fluctuating Asian currencies, new business value surged 33% in the 12 months
• Annualized new premiums jumped 41% on an actual exchange rate basis
• Hong Kong led the growth with an 82% surge on an actual exchange rate basis. Mainland visitors have returned after the lifting of pandemic-era travel restrictions. Sales to local residents also remained robust
• The growth momentum in sales to mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong continued into the first two months of this year, Group Chief Executive Lee Yuan Siong said an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, without giving a number
• Its China unit posted a 13% rise in new business value on an actual exchange rate basis, bolstered by a 62% increase in sales of savings products in a low interest rate environment
• “With AIA’s tax-deductible pension plan gaining traction, we expect mix would further tilt towards savings but margin decline would moderate from here,” Citigroup Inc. analysts led by Michelle Ma wrote in a note of the China business last month
• Chinese residents were looking for alternative investments as economic growth slowed, the housing market was enveloped in a crisis and the stock market cratered
• Hong Kong’s removal of extra stamp duties for property transactions will improve sales of long-term insurance sales to Hong Kong residents, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steven Lam wrote on March 1
• Properties are typically the biggest middle-class household assets. Falling home prices and higher mortgage interest payments in recent years have dampened appetite for long-term insurance products, he added
• In addition, the removal of buyer’s stamp duty on non-permanent resident buyers can attract more mainland Chinese to buy homes in the city, lifting demand for other financial products such as insurance at the same time, Lam wrote
• AIA generated a third of its new business value from Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia last year, with the measure growing 22% in Thailand and 13% in Singapore
• Southeast Asia led in moves to lift Covid restrictions, highlighting the benefits of having a geographically diverse business, Chief Financial Officer Garth Jones said Thursday during a telephone interview
• AIA’s operating profit after tax per share surged 2% during a year when it spent $3.6 billion to buy back shares
• The insurer declared a final dividend of 119.07 Hong Kong cents, lifting full-year payout by 5% to 161.36 Hong Kong cents

(Updates with CEO, CFO comments, share price, Southeast Asia growth in bullets)

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