Prudential eyes Vietnam growth

the UK-based financial services group that has built up extensive operations across Asia, will Tuesday expand its footprint in Vietnam with the launch of a consumer finance business.

Prudential Vietnam Finance Co will provide personal loans and residential mortgages, and will be officially announced by Mark Tucker, group chief executive, at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.

The decision marks a worldwide departure for Prudential, which to date has concentrated on life assurance and asset management, and reflects the company’s optimism about Vietnam’s 8 per cent per annum economic growth rate.

Foreign investors are rushing to strike deals in the country’s financial services sector, although Société Générale of France remains the only other overseas group to have been awarded a consumer finance licence.