Under the 16-year deal, Manulife Vietnam will exclusively provide insurance, wealth, and retirement solutions to the bank’s customers

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A branch of VietinBank in the Vietnamese city of Đà Lạt. (Credit: Diane Selwyn/Wikimedia Commons)

Canadian insurance firm Manulife Financial, through its subsidiary Manulife (Vietnam), has signed a 16-year bancassurance deal with Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank).

The deal enables Manulife Vietnam to become the exclusive provider of insurance, wealth, and retirement solutions to the more than 14 million customers of VietinBank in Vietnam, once regulatory approval is secured.

The products will be distributed via a professional and well-trained sales force who will be backed by the latest digital tools and processes, said the parties.

VietinBank chairman Lê Đức Thọ said: “VietinBank and Manulife Vietnam have strengths and ambitions that complement each other – in particular, our strong shared focus on providing customer-centric financial products, services and solutions to Vietnamese individuals, families and businesses.

“The signing of the agreement is an important milestone that marks our cooperation with Manulife Vietnam. We believe that the relationship between VietinBank and Manulife Vietnam will grow strongly as we progress towards our vision of being the leading and most reputable bank in Vietnam, providing the most comprehensive and effective financial solutions to our customers.”

As part of the deal, Manulife Financial’s another subsidiary Manulife Financial Asia will acquire Aviva Vietnam Life Insurance, which will be subject to regulatory approvals.

The bancassurance deal between Manulife Financial and VietinBank will replace the existing arrangement between the bank and Aviva Vietnam.

Currently, Manulife Vietnam is among the major life insurers in Vietnam on the basis of annual premium equivalent sales.

Manulife Financial forayed into Vietnam more than 20 years ago as the first foreign insurer to get a license. Currently, its Vietnamese subsidiary has nearly 1,000 employees and more than 50,000 contracted agents for catering to over one million customers.

The Canadian insurance group said that the new partnership with VietinBank will considerably expand distribution capabilities of its subsidiary across the country. Besides, the bancassurance deal will boost Manulife Vietnam’s position in Vietnam.

Manulife Financial Asia president and CEO Anil Wadhwani said: “We are very excited to expand our ability to support improved health and retirement outcomes for a rising, more digitally enabled population in Vietnam through this partnership. Vietnam is one of the region’s greatest economic success stories.

“Partnering with VietinBank means that we have even more opportunities to address the health, protection, savings and investment needs of customers in Vietnam and to make the lives of millions more Vietnamese every day better.”