The Ministry of Economy and Finance has issued a licence to AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance Plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed AIA Group Ltd, to operate in Cambodia, the company said in a press release on Friday.

The group, the second-largest life insurer in the world by market capitalisation, said it plans to begin operating in the Kingdom by the end of the year. AIA will join a rapidly growing life insurance market in Cambodia, which grew by 95 percent in 2016 with $24.4 million in premiums.