PVI Sun Life gets the OK to operate in Vietnam

January 31, 2013 at 07:51 AM

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Canada's Sun Life got the go ahead to operate in Vietnam late last week.

PVI Sun Life Insurance Company (PVI Sun Life), a joint venture life insurance company that was formed by Vietnamese investment insurance group PVI Holdings and Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada received regulatory approval from the authorities in both countries.

Although not one of the behemoth BRIC nations, Vietnam is a member of another economic acronym, CIVETS, which stands for: Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.

The evolution of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the subsequent alteration of its central planning policies has left the country of over 90 million people ripe for investment. Especially in the life insurance sector as only 5 percent of the population have coverage.

PVI Sun Life will focus its efforts on expanding Sun life's footprint in Asia. The company, through multiple sales channels, will strive to become a leader in the Vietnamese life insurance market.

As the low interest rate environment squeezes life insurer's investment returns and sales are restricted by the diminished purchasing power of many consumers in Western markets, many life insurance companies are expected look to emerging markets in order to compensate.

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