BAO VIET BECOMES FIRST VIETNAMESE INSURER TO SELL ONLINE

Vietnam’s Bao Viet insurance corporation has become the first player in its domestic market to start conducting business via the Internet. The Vietnam News publication reported today that the company, which holds 70% of the country’s insurance market, had started selling a range of insurance products via its www.baoviet.com.vn website. Bao Viet was said to be the only operator in the Vietnamese market to offer both life and general insurance products. Meanwhile, Bao Viet has set a revenue target of 1.75tn dong for this year, a 13.9% rise on 1999, according to the locally based Hanoi Moi newspaper. The projected growth compares with a 17.5% rise achieved last year.