Generali granted Vietnamese licence

The new company, Generali Vietnam Life Insurance Company, is wholly owned by Generali and headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, where a representative office opened at the end of 2009.

In 2010 the insurance industry in Vietnam grew by 22% through conductive demographic factors (population of 88 million, of which 60 million are active). Other factors that make economic conditions in the country favourable to the development of the insurance industry are a low insurance penetration ratio (just 1.6% of GDP) coupled with a domestic saving ratio close to 30%. GDP grew by 6.78%, beating the US$100 billion threshold.

Another element is the achievement of the government in bringing down the poverty ratio from 22% in 2005 to the current 9.45%, which positions Vietnam in the ranks of middle income countries.

The new licence extends the Generali Group's presence in Asia to eight countries: China, India, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Vietnam. The area represents a strategic market for Generali, in view of its high economic growth and high household saving propensity.