Due to stagnation in the South Korean market, insurers look to Vietnam for growth, given the region’s emerging insurance sector and younger population.
Mirae Asset Life Insurance recently invested in Prevoir Vietnam Life Insurance Company, a French-owned life insurance company in Vietnam. The firm entered the Vietnamese market in 2005 and while its local market share is at around 1%, its growth potential is reportedly promising. It is engaged in various distribution deals with banks and post offices across the country.
Meanwhile, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance recently bought 20% of non-life insurer Petrolimex Joint Stock Insurance Company.
“Our main clients have been South Korean companies in Vietnam,” a representative of Samsung told
Business Korea. “We are expecting that the acquisition of the shares will lead to more direct business relations with Vietnamese companies based on the utilization of the local insurer’s networks.”
Hanwha Life Insurance and Dongbu Life Insurance have also made investments in Vietnam, with Hanwha Life Insurance Vietnam posting its first profitable year since it was founded in 2009. Aside from Vietnam, Hanwha also invested in Indonesia, another Southeast Asian market experiencing double-digit annual growth.
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