U.S., Vietnamese insurers work on capital markets

HANOI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Federal Insurance, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Chubb Corp (CB.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has teamed up with Bao Minh Insurance Corp BMI.HN to help protect Vietnam's fledgling capital markets from risks, the U.S. firm said in a statement.

The two signed a contract on Tuesday under which Federal Insurance will provide technical training to underwrite specialty liability insurance with a focus on liability policies for company directors and officers.

Bao Minh, Vietnam's second-largest insurer, will sell these products in the country, where financial markets are in an early stage of development as state-owned companies go public and list their shares on one of two stock exchanges .VNI .HASTCI.

Communist-run Vietnam's economic expansion is second only to China and there has been strong growth in the export and financial sectors.

"This rapid growth also poses risks that drive the need for enhanced corporate governance," Ho Chi Minh City-based Bao Minh Chief Executive Officer Tran Vinh Duc said in the statement.

Vietnam's main Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange had the fastest growth in Asia in the first quarter of 2007, rising 42.5 percent after a surge of 144 percent in all of last year.

The VN index has since eased, but is still up 24 percent for the year.

Bao Minh has forecast revenues this year to rise 9.5 percent to 1.59 trillion dong ($98.4 million) and its net profit to rise 10 percent to 110 billion dong ($6.8 million).

Shares in Bao Minh ended flat at 96,000 dong ($5.3) on Tuesday on the over-the-counter Hanoi Securities Trading Center .HASTCI.

The firm's second quarter net profit eased to 49.2 billion dong from 49.3 billion dong in the first quarter, bringing the first half net to 98.5 billion dong ($6 million). Bao Minh did not provide comparative figures for 2006. ($1=16,164 dong)