Petrovietnam insurance arm seeks listing licence

Petrovietnam Insurance Corporation (PVI), Vietnam's third-largest insurer, has sought to list all its 50 million shares on the over-the-counter Hanoi stock market, the exchange said on Thursday.

Hanoi-based PVI, the insurance arm of state oil and gas Petrovietnam group, needed to provide additional information to its listing application before receiving a licence, the market authority said in a statement.

Shares in PVI were 80,000 dong to 82,000 dong ($5) on the unofficial markets, valuing the firm at $250 million.

Vietnam's insurance sector has grown rapidly in recent years as economic growth was more than 8 percent in 2005 and 2006. The government expects 9 percent growth in the second half of this year, up from 7.87 percent in the first half.

The growth potential for insurance in the country of 85 million people is huge as Vietnam spent $11 per head on insurance last year, up from $10 in 2005, compared with $46.3 in China, industry figures show.

Last month, PVI raised nearly $47 million by auctioning 10 million shares at an average 75,499 dong ($4.7) each, of which foreign investors bought more than 1.9 million.

The sale was part of PVI's plan to issue more than 35 million shares, with proceeds going to building three oil tankers, buying stakes in two financial firms and a power plant construction firm in Laos.

The state now owns 76 percent of PVI, outside investors have 23.46 percent and employees hold 0.54 percent.

Last year, PVI had an 18.09 percent market share of Vietnam's non-life insurance market, making it the third biggest after Bao Viet, which had a 34.94 percent share, and Bao Minh (BMI) with 21.29 percent, industry reports said.

PVI has been expanding from its core insurance business since early 2007 to areas such as crude oil production, banking, stock broking and cement production.

PVI said its audited net profit jumped 51.7 percent to 44 billion dong ($2.73 million) last year from 2005 following a 65.6-percent surge in insurance premiums to $72 million.

It had revenues of 1.2 trillion dong ($74.4 million) in the first half of this year, or 65 percent of its annual target.

Source: Reuters