The Analysis of Vietnamese Guarantee Insurance Market and SGI’s Growth Strategy: A Case Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study is first to analyze the current state of Vietnamese Non-Life Insurance market focusing on guarantee insurance, and secondly to develop a growth strategy for SGI(Seoul Guarantee Insurance) at the Vietnamese guarantee insurance market. Research design, data, and methodology: As an insurance company’s foreign market expansion case study, the study deals with a specific foreign(Vietnam) market and a specific insurance company, SGI. The paper utilizes a case study method with qualitative analytic approach. It employs library research and on & off-line interviews with foreign and domestic experts from including SGI management, global non-life insurance business, and Vietnamese insurance markets. In order to make up information gap the study utilizes Vietnamese industry information and GIS’s documents. Results: SGI established an office at Hanoi in 2007 and has achieved meaningful performance at the Vietnamese guarantee market since 2014. The market, however, has had explicit regulation barriers and an implicit customer barriers against the foreign guarantee insurer. In order to develop a growth strategy for GSI, the study investigated the company’s potential for success in the guarantee insurance market based on four success factors (Vision & Objectives, Capital Capacity, Guarantee Insurance Expertise, Global Business Expertise). SGI was found to have an clear and consistent vision & motivation for global business presence, strong competitiveness in capital capacity and guarantee insurance expertise but not strong competitiveness in global business expertise. For SGI, the paper suggested three growth strategies (Marketing Enforcement, Law & Regulation Modernization, Entering New Business). The paper also suggested necessary organization change options to support SGI’s growth strategy. Implications: The study shows how to establish a partnership with the hosting country with underdeveloped social infrastructure. It also suggests how to qualitatively evaluate key decision factors and to develop a growth strategy for an insurance company at a foreign market.