Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), the life insurance arm of Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), yesterday won regulatory approval from the Vietnamese authorities to set up a subsidiary in Ho Chi Minh City in six months, the company said in a press statement.
The new life insurance subsidiary, which is expected to be launched early next year, will further help strengthen Fubon Financial’s presence in Vietnam as its banking and non-life insurance sectors are already operating in the country, the company said.
Citing statistics from Vietnamese authorities, the life insurance market there is forecast to see 12 percent growth year-on-year in premium incomes to US$670 million this year, the Taiwanese life insurer said.
Fubon Life foresees new business potential in the Vietnamese life insurance market, which only posts a meager penetration rate of 0.85 percent.
This compares with a 15 percent penetration rate in Taiwan.
Out of Vietnam’s population of 86 million, only 7 million are insured policyholders, with a total of 3.84 million effective policy contracts, the company said.
Vietnam has posted a robust annualized GDP growth of 7 percent in the past six years with its GDP per capital jumping from US$542 to US$1,056, the statement added.
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