Establishment of joint venture paves way for MetLife to become a prominent player in the Vietnamese Market

Hanoi, Vietnam, 21/7/2014 – MetLife Limited (MetLife), Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and BIDV’s affiliate, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam Insurance Joint Stock Corporation (BIC), announced today that they received the establishment and operation license from the Ministry of Finance on No 72/GP-KDBH for establishing their life insurance joint venture, BIDV MetLife Life Insurance Limited Liability Company (JV), in Vietnam.  This follows the signing of a joint venture contract by the parties in September of 2013 which was witnessed by Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, during his visit to the United States. 

​The JV has a charter capital of VND 1 trillion (approximately US$48 million), with MetLife contributing 60% of the JV’s charter capital and BIDV and BIC together contributing the remaining 40%.  The JV will initially focus on offering life and health insurance products, and the JV will sign a distribution agreement with BIDV under which BIDV will exclusively distribute products of the JV through its network.   

The JV will leverage the strengths of two MetLife and BIDV to create a strong and trusted insurance provider.  Vietnamese consumers will benefit from access to MetLife’s global expertise, financial reliability and a wide range of innovative products and service while leveraging on BIDV’s profound understanding of the financial needs of Vietnamese customers and its large national branch network of over 600 distribution points nationwide.  

About BIDV

Founded in 1957, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) is a leading financial institution in the fields of banking, securities, insurance and financial investment, with a large banking network in Vietnam.  It currently serves 5 million clients nationwide and BIDV is recognized as a leading brand name in Vietnam. In 2013, BIDV has been awarded the Domestic Cash Management Bank of the Year by Asian Money Magazine, and awarded the Top 10 most famous brand name in Vietnam for three consecutive years (2011, 2012, 2013).  It is a diversified financial group with business activities in the fields of banking, securities, insurance and financial investment.  With more than 18,000 officers, employees and financial consultants, BIDV serves both individual customers and institutions.  BIDV also has a commercial presence in a number of countries including Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Czech Republic; and several joint ventures in Vietnam with other foreign partners. 

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Contacts:

Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam   For media inquiries: Tel: +84.4.22205256; Fax: +84.4.22225316 Website:  www.bidv.com.vn

MetLife Limited     Linda Pham, Regional Director, Corporate Communications, Asia  MetLife O: +852-2277-4111 | F: +852-2968-1433 Website:  www.metlife.com