Major Canada-based insurers Sun Life and Manulife have posted second-quarter earnings that exceeded market expectations, with both firms crediting the Asian markets for significant contributions.

Both Canadian insurers are growing strong in Asia, due to the region’s expanding middle class, reports Reuters. The growth also allows them to diversify from their home market, where competition is intense.

Sun Life CEO Dean Connor singled out the Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia, and India markets for their strong performance. He added that from the current level of 18%, Sun Life aims to increase Asia’s share in its earnings to 25%.

“The demographics are helpful,” Connor said. “You’re seeing more people wanting to buy insurance and, in China and India in particular, people in their 30s and 40s are having a more positive view of life insurance than their parents did.”

Sun Life’s reported net income for the second quarter, excluding one-off items, was US$557.11 million compared to US$526.54 million the year before. Its net income from its Asian businesses rose to US$110.8 million from US$94 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, Manulife earned US$1.09 billion for the second quarter, up from US$890 million from last year. It said that core earnings from Asia were at US$310.3 million, compared to US$267.5 million during the same period last year.