By Kang Seung-woo
Samsung Life Insurance plans to enter the markets of India and Indonesia in efforts to gain a footing in Asia, the company CEO said on Wednesday night.
“After foraying into China and Thailand, (the company) plans to make inroads into Asian markets with high potential, such as India and Indonesia, within the next two years,” its CEO Park Keun-hee said at a press conference.
The nation’s largest life insurer also plans to expand its existing sales network in China and Thailand as well as establish alliances with local financial institutions.
“Once we focus on the Asian market and after making thorough preparations, we will try to advance into the leading markets such as the United States and Europe,” Park said.
“We are also preparing for the Middle East amid speculation that there might be another boom there.”
A slew of Korean insurance companies have been looking to penetrate global markets for potential growth as the domestic situation remains saturated.
This is despite rarely showing solid numbers last year due to increased operating costs on overseas networks and sales forces.
The combined net loss from overseas operations came to $13.1 million last year, compared with $7.7 million the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Along with overseas expansion, the retirement and VIP markets are the drawing attention of Samsung Life.
Samsung estimates that the retirement market worth about 45 trillion won this year will grow to approximately 104 trillion won by 2015, while affluent clients with 1 billion won in assets, numbered at some 147,000 last year, are expected to increase drastically.
The CEO said that Samsung Life has set its sights on increases of 7 to 8 percent in assets, 10 percent in net earnings and 11 to 13 percent in return on equity (ROE).
In 2010, the insurance firm had a storybook year, as its net income reached a record 1.93 trillion won to become the first local insurer to register an annual net profit of more than 1 trillion won.