AIA Singapore employees will receive S$1,000 as part of the company’s work from home assistance to support them during COVID-19

AIA is also opening up more pathways for jobseekers and fresh graduates through various recruitment campaigns and the SGUnited Traineeships Programme

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 17 June 2020 - AIA Singapore today announced that all employees will receive S$1,000 as part of the company's focus on its people, to help its staff who are working remotely from home during the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, to ensure that they can get the equipment they need to further enhance their home office setup. In addition, this move will help its staff cushion any financial impact that their family could be facing and ride through this challenging time. The lump sum is available to all permanent and contract staff and will be paid out to more than 1,000 employees. AIA Singapore recognises and appreciates the continued commitment and resilience of its employees in keeping the company going during this time and wants to ensure that they are well taken care of.

In embracing new norms, AIA Singapore is working to extend flexible work from home arrangements for all staff as part of a permanent arrangement even after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, to provide them with more flexibility and encourage better work life integration. Employees will be able to choose which days of the week that they would like to work from home, customising their time and working arrangements around their individual needs.

In addition, AIA Singapore will also be granting an additional day-off for employees, to encourage them to use this time to focus on their personal wellbeing as one of the company's initiatives to inspire people to lead healthier, longer and better lives.

Mr Patrick Teow, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Singapore, said: "We are people-centric at AIA Singapore and place a high priority on our employees' wellbeing as they are the force behind AIA's success. We are in this together and it is even more so during these unprecedented times that we want to assure them of our emphasis to preserve jobs and commitment to invest in their continuous personal and professional development. There is currently no plan for any salary cuts. Being a leading life insurer, there is no better time for us to demonstrate leadership by providing peace of mind during times when people need us most. We will remain strong for our customers, to help them plan against life events and to cushion the blow during this challenging time. We would like to convey our deepest appreciation to our employees and thank them for their continual commitment and dedication in stepping up to support our company and our customers."

As part of AIA Singapore's continuous commitment to upskill its employees, AIA Singapore partnered with Hyper Island to co-design a digital mindset cultural programme -- Digital Ei8ht -- to proactively engage with its entire employee base to embrace a culture of experimentation and innovation as part of its efforts to stay on the pulse of business and digital transformation. This is in addition to the available learning platform, LinkedIn Learning, where all employees can access to content such as Customer Experience, Customer Relationship Management, Digital and Tech and Personal Effectiveness.

AIA employees have been embracing new norms, using Microsoft Teams for their virtual townhalls, daily meetings and interactions as well as Workplace for Facebook to connect and check-in on each other's wellbeing. To bring employees together virtually to keep healthy in the mind, body and soul, AIA Singapore also rolled out virtual sessions to staff on mental wellness, work from home ergonomics and fitness etc. These extended benefits are the latest in a series of measures introduced by AIA Singapore to support its employees during this challenging time.

Ms Wong Sze Keed, CEO-Designate and Chief Distribution Officer of AIA Singapore, said: "We have always endeavoured to be more than just an insurer, in good times and bad; we want to be a partner through life's journey. That promise starts with our employees. They make AIA Singapore, they define our culture and are the driving force of our organisation, now more than ever. Their holistic wellbeing is of upmost importance and, regardless of the situation or what role they play, we are committed to improving their overall wellbeing and providing them with assurance when they need it most."

AIA Singapore will be offering over 200 job opportunities through its various recruitment campaigns for jobseekers who are keen to embark in the wealth management and insurance associate roles. Additionally, to support fresh and recent graduates, AIA Singapore is also joining the SGUnited Traineeships Programme to offer traineeship positions for digital roles such as Data Analytics, UX Design, and more.

On top of the above, AIA Singapore also provided free COVID-19 coverage for 2.6 million existing eligible individual customers, corporate members, employees and AIA Representatives[1] and, rolled out several initiatives to support AIA Representatives through this unprecedented time, such as:

• Creating a Resilience Booster Challenge and Solidarity Rewards Challenge to provide extra incentives to reward our agency force who are servicing the financial needs of fellow Singaporeans during this trying period.
• Temporary relief support for selected AIA Representatives.
• Providing free access to LinkedIn Learning for selected agents and leaders.
• Launching Non-Face-to-Face (NFTF) Sales Solutions to enable the agency force to conduct sales effectively.

About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively "AIA" or the "Group") comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific -- wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong SAR, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Mainland China, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau SAR, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, a 99 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, and a 49 per cent joint venture in India.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$284 billion as of 31 December 2019.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 36 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code "1299" with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: "AAGIY").