Samsung Fire & Marine takes 20% in Vietnamese insurer PJICO

Visual from PJICO's website.

By Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc

May 8, 2017

South Korea’s Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Company Limited has entered an agreement to acquire a 20 per cent interest in Vietnam-based insurer PJICO, a unit of Vietnam’s largest petrol dealer Petrolimex.

The per share price of the private placement is VND30,000 ($1.3), which means Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance will need to spend a total of VND532 billion ($23.4 million) for the stake.

The South Korean investor is required to hold the shares over a period of five years.

Upon closing the transaction, Petrolimex will reduce its ownership in PJICO from 51.18 per cent to 40.95 per cent. Other existing shareholders, including Vietcombank, Vietnam Reinsurance Corporation and others, will also trim their holdings collectively from 37.77 per cent to 23.19 per cent.

VPBank Securities, Vision & Associates Legal, YKVN Lawyers, Horizon Capital Vietnam and Russin & Vecchi Vietnam are the advisors to the deal.

Petrolimex, as the largest shareholder at PJICO, will continue to commit its support for the insurance company by promoting PJICO products through its retail network. With a dominant market share of over 50 per cent in the local petroleum industry, Petrolimex has been leveraging its network to help PJICO become a major player in the non-life insurance market.

“The strategic partnership with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is poised to create a significant driving force for PJICO’s growth and business performance within the next five years and beyond,” said PJICO chief executive Dao Nam Hai.

The company said it had reached VND600 billion insurance revenue in the first quarter of 2017, representing a 8.5 per cent year-on-year rise. Its profit before tax also jumped 31 per cent to VND40.1 billion.

PJICO is a listed stock on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange since 2011. It is currently traded at VND23,900 apiece.

Also read:

Vietnam: Petrolimex shares jump more than 13% on debut

Samsung keen on bigger play in Vietnam, mulls investments in energy & insurance sectors

Vietnam’s PVI Holdings forms strategic partnership with Korea’s Lotte Insurance

UK insurer Aviva buys out 50% partner stake in Vietnamese JV

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