BIDV MetLife to expand to meet local consumers’ needs

Dustin Ball, CEO of BIDV MetLife

BIDV Metlife has just launched the Ho Chi Minh City branch office more than a year after the joint venture (JV)’s establishment in Hanoi. Could you shed the light on the company’s strategy and business plan?

Our strategy and vision for BIDV MetLife (BML) remains unchanged from when we launched the company over one year ago. Our goal is to be No1 in sales through banks, the bancassurance sales channel, and to become a Top 5 company in the market.

With the launch of our office in Ho Chi Minh City, we now have a team in place in the south to support the sales actives in that important region. As of today, BML products are available in 300 BIDV sales outlets across the country. By the end of next year, our products will be available for sales in every BIDV branch and all of BIDV’s seven million customers will be able to benefit from access to leading protection and savings products.

Do you foresee any challenges as you made the entry into the southern region considering the market difference amongst the regions?

The southern region is a very important region for life insurance with significant commercial and economic development. And BIDV, our partner, is very well positioned in the market especially after its acquisition of MHB earlier this year.

Our primary challenge in the south is actually very similar to the challenges in the north, which is that customers do not all understand the value of life insurance. We plan to address this lack of understanding by providing our sales representatives with the training and tools necessary to explain the value and importance to customers. And importantly, our products are designed specifically for the bank channel and are easy to explain and understand.

Another key challenge for us has been the intense competition for qualified talent. We are investing in training and have a number of events and activities to ensure that our employees feel valued and appreciated. And so far we have been fortunate to build an experienced and effective team in the south.

What has MetLife brought into Vietnam so far since the JV with BIDV?

We have benefited greatly from both of our shareholders. BIDV has an excellent distribution network across the country and provides their local expertise to our team. MetLife has made a strong commitment to Vietnam and will work with the Vietnamese government and in particular, the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority, to provide advice and technical assistance where needed. In a meeting earlier this month in MetLife’s office in Washington DC with Vuong Dinh Hue, Head of the Central Economic Committee, MetLife’s senior leaders expressed our long-term commitment to the Vietnamese market. We have expertise in many areas that can be helpful to the market’s development and experience with best practices across the globe.

How far do you see the gap between the Vietnamese insurance market and the Asia-Pacific market? What should be done to bridge the gap?

I would look at the state of the Vietnamese insurance market not in terms of a gap but in terms of the stage of development. Other countries may be at different stages of development, with some farther along and some behind. What is important is that the foundations for developing the market in Vietnam are solid. In Vietnam, we are experiencing rapid economic development of 6-7 per cent per year.

Vietnam’s income per capita in 2014 was around $2,000 and is expected to hit $2,300 by end of 2015. With this steady increase in income, citizens will have enough income to plan for their future and will be able to take advantage of the comprehensive financial solutions offered by life insurers.

The Vietnamese government is also taking actions to improve the insurance market so that by 2020 the insurance revenue will account for 3-4 per cent of GDP. This includes steps to strengthen capital markets and increase the investment options available to life insurers. The government has recently issued bonds with tenures of 15-20 years to answer life insurers’ need for longer duration assets. These actions give us confidence that the insurance market will continue to grow at double digits over the next few years.

So there are many opportunities for BML in the Vietnamese market. How can BML satisfy all needs of Vietnamese customers?

I have had the opportunity to work in many markets across Asia and believe that the best way to grow is flexibility. So we have done two things that help us to move quickly.

The first is that we have spent time on our business plan to outline where we will focus our effort and how we will manage our business. So when an opportunity comes up, we can quickly see if it fits within our plans or not and act accordingly. Having these guidelines is extremely important to be able to act quickly.

The second strategy is to build a culture that allows quick and effective communication. Our team knows that they can quickly escalate issues to their managers and that management will act quickly to support them. And we have built a culture that values speed. In fact, my most commonly used words in Vietnamese are “nhanh nhanh”, which means “hurry up!”

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