Oman fund invests in PetroVietnam

The Oman Investment Fund has become a foreign strategic partner of PetroVietnam Insurance Company (PVI).

The fund’s subsidiary, Funderburk Lighthouse Ltd, has acquired over 20 million shares in PVI, worth a total of VND808.3 billion (US$42.5 million) and representing approximately 12.6 per cent of the insurance company’s equity.

The acquisition was part of an issue of over 56.4 million additional shares by the PVI, over 36.2 million shares of which were offered to existing shareholders at a ratio of 20:7.

Funderburk picked up the remaining shares in the issue at a price of VND40,000 ($2.10) per share. Meanwhile, PVI shares closed up 6.7 per cent on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on Friday to VND26,900 ($1.40).

The Oman Investment Fund, established in 2006, is the sovereign wealth fund of Oman and invests globally in a diversified portfolio including private equity, finance services, real estate and other strategic projects.

“The strategic partnership with the fund, owned by a country that promotes petroleum exploration such as Oman, will enable the PVI to extend its reach,” said PVI’s director of planning and business development Do Tan Binh.

The two partners would have many opportunities for future co-operation, Binh said, revealing that the PVI planned to establish a life insurance company in the near future.

The PVI currently dominates the domestic market in energy and marine insurance. It is also the second largest Vietnamese non-life insurance company in terms of direct premiums, with a market share of over 20 per cent.

Last week, the insurance company also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Viet Nam-Russia joint venture Vietsovpetro to provide insurance for Vietsovpetro assets worth up to $6 billion, with the potential to add another $4 billion on new Vietsovpetro projects.

The PVI posted a profit VND220 billion ($11.6 million) in 2009, an increase of 28.13 per cent over the previous year, and projects a profit this year of VND330 billion ($17.4 million). It also plans to increase its charter capital this year from around VND1 trillion (US$52.6 million) to VND1.6 trillion ($84.2 million).

VIETNAMNEWS

Tags: PetroVietnam Insurance Company, PVI, Vietnam insurance industry, Vietnam insurance sector