France's Groupama starts agri insurance business in Vietnam
HANOI - France's number two insurance group Groupama has begun
operations in the country.
It kicked off Vietnam's first wholly foreign-owned agricultural
insurance business in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Can
Tho last week.
Groupama Agricultural Insurance (GIA), which was licensed in July
this year, said it has started selling policies in Can Tho at the
International Agricultural Exhibition.
"We chose to locate our main office in Can Tho because it is
Vietnam's largest agricultural hub and a big market with around
three million farming households," general director Jacques Giraud
told reporters.
"We anticipate a huge demand among local farming households in the
delta, particularly insurance for activities such as modernisation
of farming practices, warehousing and transportation, income
security, and investment."
Knowing that the farming households' average income is around
VND7.2 million per ha per year, the Vietnam subsidiary can begin
making profits soon at premiums priced at just one per cent of
that, he hoped.
"If all goes to plan, we target a 5 per cent market share in
Vietnam's insurance market by 2003, selling 150,000 policies."
The newly-opened firm will offer policies covering a wide range of
farming risks like fire, death of cattle and livestock, warehoused
crops, storms, housing and warehousing, damage caused by
electricity and broken down machines.
It will also offer policies against personal risk from farmwork
such as death, injury or stoppage of work due to accidents.
Vietnam News Agency - December 17
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