Leading Korean life insurer opens representative office in Hanoi
Korea's leading life insurer, Samsung Life Insurance officially opened a representative office in Hanoi on July 15, following a license granted by the Ministry of Finance on April 17 2008.
The opening of Samsung Life Insurance's representative office in Hanoi was an evidence for a long-term investment of the company in Vietnam, contributing to promoting the bilateral relationship between the two countries, affirmed Mr Cho Moon Sung, Deputy General Director of Samsung Life Insurance.
In the coming time, the office's responsibility is to build diverse trading models suitable for Vietnamese market as well as an investment strategy for the company's advancement into the market. The office will also be assigned to collect information about the Vietnamese market and explore trading opportunities in Vietnam.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Trinh Thanh Hoan, head of the Insurance-Financial Department at the Ministry of Finance said the entering into the Vietnamese market by Samsung Life Insurance has shown the company's belief in the development of the Vietnam insurance market in general and the life insurance market in particular.
According to Mr Hoan, currently there are ten life insurance companies operating in Vietnam. Mr Hoan affirmed that the presence of foreign insurance companies will bring about diversity for the domestic insurance market, contributing to creating more jobs for local people.
In the first half of this year, the insurance market in Vietnam has recorded a year-on-year growth of 17% and currently the insurance market has attracted the participation of only 5% of Vietnam's population, said Mr Hoan, adding that the insurance market in Vietnam in general and life insurance in particular has great potential for development.
Samsung Life Insurance is a key member of the Samsung Group. Its revenue in 2007 hit US$27.6 billion, accounting for the biggest share of the domestic income insurance market of 28%.
With its Vietnam representative office, the company has a total seven representative offices in Tokyo, New York, Beijing, London, America, India and Vietnam. The company is making preparations for its expansion of trading activities to the global market.
It also manages two life insurance joint ventures in Thailand and China and two investment legal entities in the UK and the US.
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