British insurance firm Aviva has acquired VietinBank’s entire 50 percent shareholding in its life insurance joint venture VietinBank Aviva Life Insurance.
As a result of the transaction, Aviva Vietnam is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva with a key focus on growing the business across all key distribution channels, the firm said in a media release.
This move also simplifies Aviva’s operating structure in the region. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
Vietnam Getting Attention
Aviva Vietnam has also signed a new distribution agreement with VietinBank to sell life and health insurance products through VietinBank’s network of over 1,100 branches and transaction offices, the second-largest in the market.
Vietnam is an attractive insurance market with double digit life premium growth in the past three years and one of the world’s lowest life insurance penetration levels, at less than 1 percent of GDP. The insurance industry is expected to benefit from the country’s projected GDP growth of more than 6 percent annually over the next three years.
«With Aviva’s insurance and digital expertise and a strong partnership with a leading bank, we are optimistic about our growth prospects in Vietnam,» said Chris Wei (pictured above), Executive Chairman Aviva Asia and Global Chairman of Aviva Digital.
Aviva operates in seven markets in Asia, Singapore, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and India.
