Friendship Insurance's new business value increased by 16% in the first half of the year, boosted by strong sales of policies in Hong Kong.

Friends Provident International strong growth in new business value in the first half of the year, mainly driven by strong sales of policies in Hong Kong. The insurance company, based in Hong Kong, reported on Thursday that the indicator measuring the future profitability of new policies increased by 16% year-on-year in the first half of the year, reaching 2.84 billion US dollars. Excluding the impact of exchange rate fluctuations, the growth rate was 14%. The Friends Provident International Board of Directors will raise the interim dividend by 10% to HK$0.49 per share.