Fairfax Financial Holdings has acquired a 35% stake in Vietnamese insurer BIDV Insurance Corporation (BIC). The transaction, finalized on January 5, 2016, had been announced in May 2015 and approved by the authorities in August of the same year.
BIC detains a strategic agreement with Vietnam’s Bank for Investment and Development (VBID), one of the country’s biggest banks, which is also its major shareholder. This partnership enables it to market products through the banking network of VBID which totals 1000 offices scattered nationwide. BIC may, therefore, reach out to the seven million customers of VBID.
The Vietnamese insurer also benefits from a presence in Laos and in Cambodge thanks to 65% stakes taken in Lao Viet Insurance and 51% stakes taken in Cambodia Vietnam Insurance.