AIG SEEKING EXPANSION IN VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA

New York-based insurer AIG has begun pushing to gain a full operating licence for its Vietnamese non-life insurance unit while turning its attention to the potential of the insurance market in Cambodia, Insurance Day reports. The US insurer has recently held discussions with the Vietnamese authorities over its pending application for a full licence to operate a wholly owned general insurance unit, though the country’s government has yet to relax its current rules, which require that foreign insurers can only participate in joint ventures with domestic firms. AIG south-east Asia president Leslie Mouat has said of the group’s latest push in Vietnam that it “has been a tough negotiation, but we have been patient and I believe we will get the right result for the company”. He added that one factor that was likely to help AIG was the need for exporters from Vietnam to the US to have in place produce liability insurance. He said that in his view “there is no other insurer able to provide the level of expertise, cover and advice on this subject as can AIG” and he believed the Vietnamese authorities were aware of this. Looking to Cambodia, Mr Mouat added that there was considerable market potential with Cambodia now a member of the Asean bloc and of the World Trade Organisation.