MANILA, Philippines - The AIA Group Ltd. has reported a 25-percent increase in new business to $291 million and a 37-percent growth in annualized new premium to $745 million in the first quarter of 2013. Total weighted premium income grew by 16 percent to $14.177 billion. AIA Group chief executive and president Mark Tucker said that AIA holds an advantaged position as the world’s leading independent pan-Asian insurer solely focused on the Asia-Pacific region. “Highlights of the quarter included the continued positive momentum in Hong Kong; the strong improvement in the performance of our agency operations in Korea; and the excellent growth witnessed in our markets, in particular Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines. Our operations in Malaysia received a positive contribution from the consolidation of the newly-acquired ING business that completed part way through December,†Tucker said in a statement.