Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Insurance and finance conglomerate Bảo Việt Holdings (Bảo Việt) has set a target of VNĐ22.5 trillion (US$1 billion) in revenue and VNĐ1.19 trillion in after-tax profit this year, according to the company’s general shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

The figures are 6.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent higher than last year’s numbers, respectively. In 2015, the company recorded total revenue of nearly VNĐ20.8 trillion and an after-tax profit of VNĐ1.17 trillion.

Bảo Việt also plans to pay a dividend of eight per cent, or VNĐ800 per share, to shareholders for last year and this year’s performances. Total dividend for last year’s business result is worth more than VNĐ544 billion.

“Bảo Việt aims to remain the top insurance and finance business in Việt Nam, become more competitive on the global market, and achieve efficient and sustainable business growth,” said Đào Đình Thi, the company’s Chairman.

By 2020, the company will hold the top position in the life insurance and non-life insurance segments, and become the top provider of financial services for the domestic market, Thi said.

During the first three months of the year, Bảo Việt earned VNĐ5.5 trillion in revenue and an after-tax profit of VNĐ387 billion, which is equal to one-third of this year’s target.

The life insurance business remains the key sector for the company, accounting for 79 per cent of the company’s first-quarter total revenue, while financial services brought 19 per cent of the company revenue during the same period.

Bảo Việt also plans to sell more than 34 million shares to its employees for at least VNĐ10,000 per share under the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) so that the company will be able to increase its capital this year to serve business activities in 2016 and 2017.

The issuance of shares to employees came after the company had been unable to find a strategic investor, who is able to provide additional capital for the company by purchasing 40 million to 61.5 million shares.

The company’s management board is now developing better plans to improve its financial capability in order to prepare for new business activities as Việt Nam has been integrating into global markets, bringing both challenges and opportunities for Vietnamese companies. — VNS