Representatives of FWD Group and Vietcombank at the a signing ceremony held in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — Photo baodautu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Insurer FWD Group confirmed on Tuesday its purchase of Vietcombank-Cardif Life Insurance (VCLI), an unit of Việt Nam’s largest listed lender by market value, Vietcombank.

Vietcombank-Cardif Life Insurance is a joint venture between the bank and BNP Paribas Cardif.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, FWD and Vietcombank said.

During a signing ceremony held in Hà Nội on Tuesday, FWD Group, the insurance arm of Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s investment group Pacific Century, also announced the group and Vietcombank had entered into an exclusive 15-year bancassurance partnership.

Under the agreement, Vietcombank would distribute FWD’s life insurance products, the bank said, without providing further financial details of the deal. But a source told Đầu Tư (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper, VCLI was worth around US$400 million.

FWD Vietnam has a prominent advantage in digitalising all business processes, with a solid strategy of developing diversified, simple and suitable products for each customer segment, which aligns with Vietcombank’s digital transformation strategies, said Nghiêm Xuân Thành, Chairman of Vietcombank.

Richard Li, Founder cum Chairman of Pacific Century Group said the co-operation with Vietcombank was part of FWD's strategy to become a leading insurance distribution company in Asia.

In July, FWD agreed to acquire the life insurance business of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank for 92.7 billion baht ($3.05 billion) in Southeast Asia’s biggest insurance M&A deal.

FWD has a presence in Hong Kong and Macau, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Việt Nam. — VNS