Hanwha Life's global portfolio strengthens as overseas earnings climb

Hanwha Life Insurance's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hanwha Life Insurance

Hanwha Life Insurance delivered a breakout year for its overseas business in 2025, underscoring the growing strength of its diversified global financial portfolio, company officials said Wednesday.

In addition to insurance-led earnings from Vietnam and Indonesia, the company has broadened its footprint through newly acquired businesses — U.S. brokerage Velocity Clearing and Indonesia’s Nobu Bank — adding fresh profit streams to the mix.

The shift is visible in the numbers. Combined net profit from these operations reached 117.7 billion won ($79.6 million), up 172 percent from 2024. Overseas businesses accounted for 14 percent of Hanwha Life’s total consolidated net profit.

Much of that momentum came from newly added businesses.

Hanwha Life US Investment, which acquired Velocity Clearing, posted 47 billion won in consolidated net profit last year. The New York-based firm specializes in post-trade services, including clearing and settlement — behind-the-scenes processes that ensure trades are finalized and assets and funds are exchanged as agreed.

Nobu Bank, in which Hanwha Life completed a stake acquisition last year, also delivered solid results. The deal marked a first for a Korean life insurer to secure a controlling stake in an overseas bank.

The bank reported 131.9 billion won in revenue and 21.6 billion won in net profit, supported by its leading position in Indonesia’s QR payment market and growth in mortgage lending.

Looking ahead, the insurer plans to pair Nobu Bank’s offline network with its own digital financial capabilities — a strategy aimed at capturing Indonesia’s young, tech-savvy population.

Meanwhile, Hanwha Life’s legacy insurance operations abroad continue to provide a stable earnings backbone.

Its Vietnam unit saw 152.9 billion won in revenue, up 7.2 percent on-year, with net profit reaching 43 billion won.

Its Indonesian insurance arm diversified distribution channels. New policy sales grew, led by bancassurance, or partnerships in which banks sell insurance products, lifting annual revenue to 27.7 billion won.

“In 2026, we aim to further expand bancassurance partnerships and diversify sales channels to maximize the performance of our overseas units and steadily increase our share in local markets,” a Hanwha Life Insurance official said.