“In This Together” AIA Myanmar and AYA Financial Group to sponsor Myanmar National League to support development of football in the country 

Companies announce that they are “In This Together” to help promote healthier lifestyles through the most loved sports in Myanmar

[Yangon, Myanmar, 17 December 2019] – AIA, one of world’s largest life insurers, and AYA Financial Group (AFG), one of Myanmar’s largest financial group today inked a sponsorship deal with the Myanmar National League (MNL) to support growth and development of the country’s football starting at the grassroots levels. This landmark agreement between AIA Myanmar, AFG and the MNL also aims to promote the role of football in encouraging healthier lifestyles amongst Myanmar’s communities.

Officially signing the agreement were Mr. Nhon Ly (Luc), CEO of AIA Myanmar, U Myint Zaw, Managing Director of AYA Bank under AYA Financial Group (AFG), and U Sai Sum Htun, Vice President of Myanmar Football Federation and Myanmar National League Committee, at a ceremony held at the AIA Myanmar Head Office in Yangon.

The sponsorship by AIA Myanmar and AFG is multi-year, starting with the 2020 Myanmar National League, and would see the two companies being the only life insurer and bank respectively to sponsor MNL. The two companies would be presented with significant co-branding opportunities across the professional football leagues organized by the MNL, which include the popular top-tier professional league the Myanmar National League-1 and Myanmar National League-2, as well as the MFF Charity Cup, General Aung San Shield and the Myanmar National Youth League. The arrangement will see the AIA and AYA logos being displayed on the jerseys of all players for all matches organized by the MNL.

AIA Myanmar’s CEO Mr. Nhon Ly (Luc) said, “As a life insurance brand focused on health and wellness, we are extremely passionate about sport and the power it has to inspire people towards leading active lifestyles. This co-sponsorship of the Myanmar National League with AFG reflects our mutual goal to develop sports in Myanmar. As AIA is the global principal partner of the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur team, it was only natural for us to be contributing to football here, with this agreement being a unique opportunity to deliver on our brand promise of helping Myanmar people live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.”

Under AYA Financial Group (AFG), AYA Bank’s Managing Director U Myint Zaw said, “AYA Bank has been working closely with the Myanmar Football Federation to help with the development of football in Myanmar. This sponsorship with AIA Myanmar further demonstrates our commitment to the sport, and we believe this momentous partnership will go a long way in further supporting the Myanmar National League to help them meet their goals. We are extremely excited with the benefits we believe this would deliver for “the beautiful game” in Myanmar.”

Myanmar Football Federation and Myanmar National League Committee’s Vice President U Sai Sum Htun expressed his delight at securing this sponsorship; “We are extremely excited to partner with AIA Myanmar and AFG as we strive to elevate football in Myanmar to even to greater heights. The sponsorship will enable us to further extend the league’s reach, and help highlight the importance of sports amongst the country’s youth. We look forward to joining forces with these two powerful brands in the upcoming 2020 MNL season and further growing the country’s favorite sport.”

The sponsorship announcement follows AIA Myanmar being awarded its life insurance license by the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry last month, to operate in Myanmar through a 100% wholly-owned subsidiary.

AIA has been actively supporting football development through its partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, one of the top clubs in the English Premier League, for which AIA is the Global Principal Sponsor. In Myanmar, earlier this year, AIA organized its AIA KICK event in Yangon, which saw two Tottenham Hotspur development coaches visit Myanmar to train hundreds of budding youth footballers. This sponsorship of the MNL further emphasizes AIA’s support of football development. 

About AIA Group

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 97 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$256 billion as of 30 June 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 34 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”).

About AYA Bank

AYA Bank was licensed by the Central Bank of Myanmar on 2 July 2010 and relicensed under the Financial Institutions Law 2016 as a full service universal bank. The bank has grown rapidly over the past seven years to become the second largest in the country, with [234] branches, [1.4m customer], Kyat [4.7] trillion customer deposits and [150 billion] Shareholders’ Equity as at the end of September 2017. Top 100 depositors represent about 6% of total deposits, underlining the general public’s confidence in the bank.

As a member of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), AYA Bank is committed to implement global standards in Corporate Governance and compliance best practices in its management and operations. Consequently, since 2014-15, AYA Bank is the only bank in Myanmar to be IFRS compliant and the only one audited under International Standards of Auditing (ISA) by a big-four international firm. The bank has also attracted and retained talented staff with both domestic and international exposure and has invested significantly in Learning & Development as a way to ensure long-term sustainable growth for the communities it serves.

For the years ahead, the bank will continue to extend its branch network throughout Myanmar while concurrently investing in state-of-the-art Core Banking, Digital Banking and Fintech platforms. AYA Bank aims to provide uniform Omni-channel interface offering innovative products and services across all customer segments. AYA Bank will also continue to focus on deepening relationships with customers, providing best-in-class customer service, and leveraging technology as the enabler to rapidly expand the customer base. The bank also aims to further strengthen its governance, risk and compliance structure as a measure to ensure balance and sustain growth.