Shinhan Life Grows Young and Fast 'Vietnam' as Its Second Key Market

Sung Dae-gyu, CEO of Shinhan Life, is giving an interview with Asia Economy at the Euljiro headquarters in Seoul on the 24th. (Photo by Shinhan Life)

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Sung Daekyu, CEO of Shinhan Life, is currently focusing most on the business of expanding into Vietnam following the recent company integration. Shinhan Life launched a local subsidiary earlier this year with the goal of making Vietnam its second core market after Korea.

Since establishing a liaison office in Hanoi, Vietnam, in June 2015, Shinhan Life has been conducting research on the local life insurance market and collaborating with Vietnamese financial authorities.

In February last year, Shinhan Life obtained approval from the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance to establish its Vietnam subsidiary. It is considered exceptional that the insurance license was acquired just six months after the application. Typically, obtaining a local license for foreign insurers takes at least one to two years.

This achievement is the result of CEO Sung’s repeated visits to Vietnam and his hands-on efforts. His local connections built while working at government agencies such as the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Insurance Development Institute, as well as the reputation of Shinhan Financial Group’s affiliates like Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Card, which have established stable operations locally, also contributed.

CEO Sung said, "Vietnam faced significant challenges at the early stage of the subsidiary’s launch due to rapid COVID-19 spread and city lockdowns. Fortunately, the license was issued faster than expected, and thanks to the hard work of our local staff, the subsidiary was launched stably."

There were also tense moments during the process. When considering establishing the local subsidiary, they received an offer from a local company to purchase a license. CEO Sung recalled, "Since we did not know when the insurance approval would come, buying a license to enter the market could save time, and we actually came close to signing a contract."

However, "due to COVID-19, due diligence was not possible, and upon reviewing the contract terms, there was no warranty allowing adjustment for contingent liabilities, so we ultimately did not sign the contract," he said. "As a result, the approval came quickly, and we were able to save significant costs."

Shinhan Life views the potential of the Vietnamese market as very large.

CEO Sung emphasized, "Vietnam has a young population and rapid economic growth, so the insurance market is expected to grow significantly in the future. We also expect synergy effects with group affiliates like Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Card, which have already established a presence in Vietnam, so we anticipate settling in within a few years."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.