Life insurance - which is part of the wealth management toolkit and particularly important in Asia - has seen one of the world's largest players move to raise its profile in Vietnam.

Aviva, the UK-headquartered financial services group, has brought a Vietnamese life insurance firm entirely into its clutches, and signed a deal to sell life and health insurance products.

The firm has bought VietinBank’s entire 50 per cent shareholding in its life insurance joint venture VietinBank Aviva Life Insurance, and signing of a new distribution agreement with VietinBank to sell life and health insurance products through VietinBank’s network of over 1,100 branches and transaction offices.

Life insurance is an important part of the wealth management product toolkit and distribution chain in Southeast Asia.

The transaction means Aviva Vietnam is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva.The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.

Aviva Vietnam was founded in 2011. Vietnam is seen as having large growth potential, because life insurance penetration is less than 1 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.